#Anglo-Saxon historic fiction

[dreamingbrownie]

Summary:

A year into Merlin becoming Court Sorcerer to King Arthur, King Lot of Essetir put a farmers' rebellion to the sword and burned a swathe into the North as punishment. Revenge for Hunith's death stirred up the embers of an old, forgotten fire: Once, there were dragonlords guarding the Old North. Merlin had not been born a farmer's son, and Uther's sins were never going to rest in peace. Arthur had a debt to pay. With Essetir in ruins, Lot was a dead man walking whether he shoved Excalibur into his black heart or not. And it all started with the words that history would remember, one distant, smoking day: "If you love me, Sire, let me go to war."

Yeah, I have zero excuses for this. I'm back on my Anglo-Saxon bullshit and y'all are gonna reap the benefits from it. Merthur, established relationship romance-in-war sort of harrowing heavy angsty story. Gonna update this every couple days, this story is finished. Bon appetite!

[nedlittle]

6 + 17 for the book ask! I started watching mash because of you!

flattered that i convinced someone to watch the 11 season army sitcom from the 70s. apologies if this is because i wouldn't stop yapping about women and mislead you as to what the show is actually about

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

SO MANY THINGS. 2024 releases aside bc there are so many: home fire by kamilla shamsie, the women who knew too much: hitchcock and feminist theory by tania modleski, the way of thorn and thunder by daniel heath justice & monstrous regiment by terry pratchett were on my '10 books to read in 2024' list. i didn't do my montmaray journals reread this year and i really hope that the books of jacob by olga tokarczuk is written in the sort of 900-page book cocaine that makes me blast thru the whole thing in a week so i can read it before the year is done but i do not have faith in myself

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

i did my mini tag essay in the last ask abt how surprised i was to find myself enjoying a variety of romance novels. so aside from that the chatelaine by kate heartfield ripped my wig off with such ferocity that it took a layer of grey matter with it. historical fantasy is not really my jam but 1) i've been into the 14th century this year 2) this book cares so much more about the intricacies of inheritance law in medieval belgium than it does about the fantasy aspects (maybe i'm just stupid and bad at understanding fantasy worldbuilding). also the phoenix bride by natasha siegel. i did not like her debut last year but this was a strong improvement. good job natasha

end of year book asks

[petercwhitaker]

Book of the Week: For Rapture of Ravens

Get an eBook copy now for 50% of the regular price! Shop here: For Rapture of Ravens Also available at :* Amazon – Apple – Barnes & Noble – Kobo *Discount prices offered with this promotion do not apply at the above stores

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

mythical/immortal character with an anglo-saxon or norse background (we'll call them A) is forced to make a choice that puts their team at risk. soon after, A gives their teammates large sums of money- weregild for the price of a king's life, for each person. its A's way of saying "whatever happens to you after this, its my fault. I put you in danger, I take responsibility"

...this has been "angstposting that requires a bachelor's in medieval studies to understand"

[coloursofunison]

I'm delighted to welcome Helen Hollick and her book, Harold The King, to the blog #1066 #BattleOfHastings #NormanConquest #AngloSaxon #EnglishHistory #PublicationSilverAnniversary #BlogTour #BookBlast #TheCoffeePotBookClub 

I'm delighted to welcome Helen Hollick and her book, Harold The King, to the blog #1066 #BattleOfHastings #NormanConquest #AngloSaxon #EnglishHistory #PublicationSilverAnniversary #BlogTour #BookBlast #TheCoffeePotBookClub @HelenHollick @cathiedunn

I’m delighted to welcome Helen Hollick and her book, Harold The King (UK)/ I Am The Chosen King (USA/Canada), to the blog. Blurb First published in 2000 – Celebrating a Silver Anniversary! The events that led to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 – told from the English point of view. Two men. One crown. England, 1044. Harold Godwinesson, a young, respected…

[easwanwriter]

Writing Update:

*Plot points are coming together to connect my storylines (yay!).

*Research is one of my favorite parts of writing and also the part I’m sometimes most reluctant to do if I’m overwhelmed and don’t know where to start BUT I have not only learned quite a bit about Vikings, I have also found tiny historical details that miraculously (truly) coincide with my story and characters.

*Not that the numbers truly mean anything to me, but it’s nice to see my goal counter move up to 5%

Happy Writing Friends! Will be sharing snippets soon.

[its-suanneschafer-author]

ICYMI: Book Review of #Bloodlines by #ChrisBishop. 4th of 5 book series on medieval Anglo-Saxons and their wars with the Vikings.

@reddoorpress

[forestdeath1]

The Black family as representatives of ancient "Anglo-Saxon elite"

To me Blacks were never partially French. I'm not saying the headcanon "Blacks are partially French" isn't valid, it's just not as interesting to me and it strips away nuances from their history. Here's why.

(It’s just my fantasies mixed with historical facts! Don’t take it too seriously)

Firstly, their choice of surname.

I've noticed that two main Death Eater families bear surnames of French and Norman origin. Lestrange and Malfoy (fictional, but the "origin" is clear). And then there's Rosier and Avery. Rosier – definitely French, and Avery – from the Middle English and Anglo-Norman French personal name Aevery, a Norman form of Alfred. There are no other surnames like this in Harry Potter, except for Peverell (correct me if I'm wrong).

Clearly, this is a reference to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These Death Eaters could be associated with aristocratic and influential families who came to England after the Norman Conquest. This is a nod to the historical division in English society between Normans and Anglo-Saxons, where Normans represented the upper echelon of society, while Anglo-Saxons were less privileged.

Yes, I'm Captain Obvious here. So let's move on to the Blacks.

The surname Black is typically Anglo-Saxon. It could have derived from the Old English word 'blæc,' meaning 'black' or 'dark,' and may have been used to describe someone who wore black clothing or had dark hair.

(Old English emerged around the 5th-6th centuries and was used in England for about 600 years, until the 11th century. This period ended after the Norman Conquest in 1066).

Hogwarts, canonically, appeared over 1000 years ago. That is, before the Norman Conquest. (But Hogwarts Castle couldn't exist yet, because castle technology was brought by the Normans). The Blacks call themselves "the noble and most ancient house of Black." That is, the oldest family, and also the noblest. Maybe they were "noble" in the sense that they belonged to the elite of Anglo-Saxon society (which was fragmented into small kingdoms). But they consider themselves the oldest family among those who trace their lineage and uphold the nobility (purity) of their blood. Considering that "Hogwarts" appeared before the Norman Conquest, I fantasize that such families already existed back then. A lot of families are extinct. Except the Blacks.

So the Blacks are a reflection of "Anglo-Saxon aristocracy." And here I headcanon that the Blacks still considered themselves more entitled than everyone else, mocked the Malfoys and Rosiers, and generally looked down on anything French. Fanatics to the bone and lovers of elevating themselves above all.

Why the motto in French – in the Middle Ages, the use of Latin and French languages was common among European aristocracy (despite the fact that there is NO aristocracy among wizards, but they could have been part of the aristocracy before the introduction of the Statute of Secrecy). The French language was often considered the language of diplomacy and culture, and its use in mottos and coats of arms was a common phenomenon. Here I just headcanon that one of the Blacks either had a strange sense of humour, or wanted to put an end to the ancient feud of the Blacks with all things French and start the family on some new beginnings. Maybe they married someone with French roots to expand their influence.

Of course, all this can be explained differently. The headcanon that the Blacks have some French part also makes sense. But for me personally, that's not so interesting, considering the obvious connections of the Lestranges and Rosiers with France (Vinda Rosier, Lestrange family Mausoleum in Paris). I prefer the Blacks who are so arrogant that they even consider themselves "true English wizards," not "like those Malfoys." And I headcanon that this was not a real confrontation, but rather a pretext for jokes and fuel for greater kindling of their vanity.

[salixsociety]

Germanic Paganism Resource Masterlist

Notes: - Updates will be beyond infrequent. - Feel free to pop into my ask box requesting resource recommendations at any moment. - Resources do not reflect my personal beliefs or practice. I may include otherwise great resources that include theories and ideologies I do not support (such as the 'sign of the Hammer'), because I make extensive use of cross-referencing, reflection, etc to determine everything I incorporate into my craft. - I will never consciously add resources written by (Neo-)Nazis and the like. If you spot them, feel free to let me know. - You may notice there is a seemingly disproportionate amount of sources also or primarily talking about Scandinavia and Iceland, and even some primarily covering England. This is because continental Germanic paganism has only barely survived the ravages of time, and one can only learn about it if they supplement their knowledge with the more complete pictures of Anglo-Saxon paganism and Norse paganism.

Legend: [No language identifier means the source is English.] [D] - The resource is written (primarily) in Dutch. [G] - The resource is written (primarily) in German. [ON] - The resource is written (primarily) in Old Norse. [OD] - The resource is written (primarily) in Old Dutch. [OG] - The resource is written (primarily) in Old High German. [L] - The resource is written (primarily) in Latin. [F] - The resource is written (primarily) in French. * - I have not read the resource in its entirety. ** - Read with caution. !! - There is more of the resource available/this is one part of multiple.

Historic Texts and References

Tacitus' Agricola and Germania

Tacitus' Annals

The Prose Edda

The Poetic Edda

The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus

Contemporary Books, Essays, Other Media

Myths and symbols in pagan Europe : early Scandinavian and Celtic religions - H.R. Ellis Davidson

Kleinere Altniederdeutsche Denkmälen - Heyne [G]*

Religion and Philosophy in Germany : a Fragment - Heine *

Deutsche Volkskunde - Adolf Bach [G]*

Teutonic Mythology - Grimm

Swedish Legends and Folk Tales - John Lindow

Scandinavian Mythology : an Annotated Bibliography - John Lindow *

Trolls : an Unnatural History - John Lindow

Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas - H.A. Guerber

Northern mythology : comprising the principal popular traditions and superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and The Netherlands - Benjamin Thorpe | VOL 1, VOL 2, VOL 3

From Myth to Fiction : the Saga of Hadingus - Georges Dumézil *

The Stakes of the Warrior - Georges Dumézil **

Gods of the Ancient Norsemen - Georges Dumézil **

Zum Tamfana-Rätsel - Edmund Weber [G]*

De Tijdstippen van de Cultische Jaarfeesten - Boppo Grimmsma [D]**

Nederlansche Volksoverleveringen en Godenleer - Van den Bergh [D, OD]*

Tales and Legends of Tyrol *

Germanic Spirituality - Bil Linzie

Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Auberglaubens - Baechtold-Staubl, Hoffman-Krayer

Goden van de Lage Landen - Gunivortus Goos [D]**

Runic and Heroic Poems of the Old Teutonic Peoples - Dickins *

Gods and Myths of Northern Europe - H.R. Ellis Davidson

Old Norse - Icelandic Literature : a Critical Guide - John Lindow

Vikings : a Very Short Introduction - Richards *

Norse Mythology : a Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals and Beliefs - John Lindow

Antwoord op de Vraag, door het Zeeuwse Genootschap de Wetenschappen - te Water [D]*

Verhandelingen over het Westland, ter opheldering der Loo-en, Woerden en Hoven, benevens de natuurdienst der Batavieren en Friezen - Buddingh [D]*

De Goden der Germanen - de Vries [D]*

Norse Revival: Transformations of Germanic Neopaganism - Stefanie von Schnurbein (in the series Studies in Critical Research on Religion which I highly recommend)

Digital Libraries, Dictionaries and the Like

Digitale Bibliotheek voor Nederlandse Letteren [D]*

Digitised Collection of Historic Sources of the WWU in Münster [G, D, OD, OG]*

Oudnederlands Woordenboek [D, OD]*

Ons volksleven : tijdschrift voor taal-, volks- en oudheidkunde. Jaargang 2-12 [D]*

Het Rad - Digitale Bibliotheek voor Germaans Heidendom, Runen, Seidr [D]*

Volkskunde (search results on Delpher) [D]*

Goden van Eigen Bodem - Digitale bibliotheek voor heidens erfgoed van de lage landen [D]*

Godinnen van Nederland en België [D]**!!

Forgotten Gods - Reginheim **

The Rune Poems *

Kronieken van de Westhoek (Flemish Folk History) [D]*

Brabantse Folklore, bulletin van de provinciale dienst voor geschiedkundige en folkloristische opzoekingen [D]*

Project Gutenberg has a wealth of resources about pre-christian Germanic religion*

Mimisbrunnr.info has a wealth of information including starter guides.

Author Recommendations

J.R.W. Sinninghe [D]

John Lindow

Benjamin Thorpe

H.R. Ellis Davidson

The Grimm Brothers

J. Haver [D]

To be continued.

[dreamingbrownie]

Chapter Summary:

“Sire?” Biting back the many regrets constricting his lungs, Arthur breathed through his strip of cloth shielding his eyes against the sick sun. “What happens usually when Merlin slips away with a lie that lasts just long enough for the rest of us to stumble after him an hour or two late?” Percival hesitated, but in the end, his honesty won out. “Things are usually on fire.” “The magic sort.” “Unfortunately. But he also is heralded as the most powerful sorcerer in the world, so he will probably be fine.”

[whencyclopedia]

12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read

The AHE team live and breathe history, but we all have our favourite historical periods and authors. We thought it would be fun for each of us to nominate one or two books that we would recommend for the general reader as well as high school students.

History is the story of ordinary people being resilient, courageous, and determined during extraordinary times. And since studying history is not simply about memorising facts, we think that the characters in the books we have nominated will allow any reader to view history through the characters' eyes and as events unfold.

Become a Roman legionary for a day; solve the mystery of a stolen necklace in Anglo-Saxon times; go on a road trip through ancient Greece; gallop on a horse across the Scottish highlands with William Wallace as he fights for Scottish independence; discover the secrets of Carcassonne in medieval France; find out why Erik the Red was banished to Greenland; and learn what it was like to be a woman in biblical times.

Dylan Campbell - Media Editor

I would recommend Ariadne: A Novel of Ancient Crete by June Rachuy Brindel. In this story, Ariadne is the hereditary monarch, but her father, Minos wishes to take his role and overthrow the old Goddess religion, using increasing violence against the priestess. It is told from Ariadne's perspective. The story takes place during the Bronze Age of Crete and delves into an alternate history but still includes famous Cretan and Athenian figures like Theseus, King Minos, Daedalus, Icarus, and others. The author revitalizes an old Bronze Age myth and provides a new twist.

Continue reading...

[petercwhitaker]

Book of the Week: For Rapture of Ravens

Get an eBook copy now for 50% of the regular price! Shop here: For Rapture of Ravens Also available at :* Amazon – Apple – Barnes & Noble – Kobo *Discount prices offered with this promotion do not apply at the above stores

[camlannpod]

Binged your show in one night and went insane over it a little bit. Symptoms of insanity include switching my 1900 day Duolingo streak of German to Welsh. Any really good resources for Arthuriana you would recommend for someone looking to hyperfixate unhealthily? Pre-Arthuriana texts and subjects also welcome (e.g. Anglo-Saxon England/Brittany, all the good pre-proselytization stuff, regional folklore/myth).

I was already pretty taken by the subject (although regionally most fascinated with the Germanic because of other brain worms) and have tried to do some research, but it’s hard to find sources that aren’t colonized, for lack of a better term, “white”-washed retellings.

((Unrelated but if you ever want to read some queer fiction that is a historical retelling of some of the folklore (specifically the Twa Sisters and the Wild Hunt) I 10/10 recommend checking out Lucy Holland, she’s part of what put me in a chokehold on this subject.))

Hello hello! Thank you so much I'm so happy you've enjoyed our show!! This is delightful and exactly the way I engage with media.

Caveat to this being that the British Isles got converted to Christianity super early, so we've got no written material that survives from a pre-Christian period, and it's always worth treating any claims of a coherent pre-Christian tradition with a lot of suspicion (we speculate about it, of course, but we just don't have the evidence we need to build a detailed picture). This said, there are all sorts of hidden gems scattered across medieval and early medieval texts.

SO! A handful of key Arthurian texts:

Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Mallory

The Mabinogion (best translation is by Sioned Davies)

Y Gododdin

Historia Brittonum by Geoffrey of Monmouth (*though this is a little dry imo)

Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes

Gawain and the Green Knight (*I really like Simon Armitage's translation!)

More readable Arthurian adaptations:

The Arthurian Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliffe

Tristan and Iseult by Rosemary Sutcliffe

The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights by John Steinbeck

Sources on British Folklore more widely:

The Lore of the Land by Westwood & Simpson

Welsh Monsters and Mythical Beasts by CCJ Ellis

Celtic Weird from the British Library

Folktales of Britain by Katharine M. Briggs

I hope you enjoy and find these useful! It's not an exhaustive list, but hopefully it'll be a good leaping off point.

(Also thanks for the Lucy Holland rec!)

[coloursofunison]

The death of King Aethelred II - on this day in history 999 years ago (a blog post from 2015) #nonfiction

The death of King Aethelred II - on this day in history 999 years ago

It’s been pointed out to me via another blog post that today is the 999th anniversary of King Æthelred II of England’s death, which means that really something big should be planned for next year when it’s a 1000 years, but poor old Æthelred II, like the much maligned Richard III, is very short of supporters. And here the similarities will, for the time being remain. Richard III, like Æthelred…

[hanzajesthanza]

I saw a take that was like “Lady of the Lake” is a complete mess and barely even a Witcher book because by then Sapkowski just wanted to write Arthurian legend fanfiction and write and essay about meta text into the book

are you me?! lol, because i was on r/fantasy a couple of days ago and saw witcher catching stray bullets there too 😭

anytime i do hear this take, i want to say: “… and what’s wrong with that 😅🥲 and what’s wrong with that?!”

because, to be honest, i also didn’t really care about any of the arthurian stuff… but then i actually went and read his opinions on why it’s important; which turned out to be just as interesting as the book, so i see it as like… own author analysis of his characters and world… like this is the kind of thing you typically beg authors to explain about their series and he just did it 🤷🏻‍♂️

the problem with my take is that i didn’t read it when it came out in 1999 (probably due to not being born yet) so i have no abilityto judge it as it was “in the moment”. i also didn’t even read the series chronologically, and played witcher 3 before i read the books, so i suppose the ending had a reduced effect on me…

however; i was a mess at the ending… so i don’t want to know how i would have reacted had i read it free of spoilers… i probably would have been like the ‘99 fans and been pissed all the same. i get the frustration: “our heroes are dead and you’re prattling on about some old legend…”

but i feel like lady of the lake is a fine wine for how it ages well. well, maybe not the… library bit, or forest gramps bit. but it ages well if you reread it and do so with patience.

the nice thing about writing and reading is that it’s asynchronous. you have all the time as a reader to pause. if you don’t understand the references, use your time to look them up. you don’t need to understand it perfectly, you don’t need to be like sapkowski and become an arthurian fanboy.

you just have to understand what he was getting at: that in his view, the arthurian myth is the genesis of all the modern fantasy genre, and by not only intentionally writing parallels to it in his work, but writing his character into that world, he is humbly (hehe) submitting his work into the fantasy canon and sending it off after it's been completed; like ciri with her parents. if you understand it this way, it becomes very beautiful indeed. it’s not just “arthurian fanfiction” because in his view, ALL fantasy writing is “arthurian fanfiction.”

(and this is even more interesting from a cultural perspective btw to me because… well it’s better explained by paulina drewniak in her thesis, but arthurian legend (in welsh and anglo-saxon forms) is “western european”, same with the modern fantasy genre being english-dominate. and witcher is… well, poland is in central europe (look at a map), but characterized as “eastern” for socio-political, historical reasons. so witcher is absolutely insane genius because sapkowski took this western format and myth and mixed it with some polish history and sensibilities of the ‘90s audiences, as well as influences from polish romanticism, making something that ends up being intriguing to many more cultures than just the one. the internationality of the witcher began way before witcher 3 snagged game of the year 2015! hehe, also geralt as a character taking from american genre fiction—hardboiled crime, western genres. and at the same time he became a polish hero. (bold claim maybe, but i mean it like… well, i’m working on the essay for that now, so you’ll see i suppose 😅)

witcher is just so damn unique for this reason. i think many works try to stay monocultural, but witcher is like this big soup that sapkowski throws a bunch of different ingredients into—and skillfully, not randomly. anyways this paragraph is really off topic but i think this was really cool :) i’ll write more on this later, at some other time. but to connect it back to topic: what i mean is, the arthurian legend makes witcher all the more richer. and then for me as a “western” reader reading it, it’s like this big full circle (even though idk crap about arthurian legend before i read the witcher :’D ))

i think that lady of the lake made me a better reader because i realized that fantasy and genre fiction, aka what i understand as "entertainment" and "reading for pleasure" is much, much more similar to "high literature" and "serious reading" than i had initially received it to be. sapkowski said it something like: “all writing is literature, everytthing except the tv guide and A to Z nutria breeding.”

the way i separated them in my mind was that entertainment books were to just entertain, and serious books were to hold an author’s message, so you should work at what they’re getting at. the witcher showed me that “entertainment books” ALSO hold the author’s message and you should work at what they’re getting at;

in other words, it’s not just about you, the reader, your pleasure; this is a two-way street. this is a game, for the enjoyment of both parties. it’s a bit like charades, or pictionary. the author is saying something, thinking something, it’s your side of the game to figure it out. and i found that figuring that out is much more fun when you also at the same time are receiving a story that you’ve become emotionally attached to and makes you giddy. but it’s not JUST about that story, the joy is not limited to just this world and these characters.

i adored english classes for this kind of game, but because we read stand-alone novels, the characters always felt a bit flat—and of course because most of the time they’re just vessels intended to carry the story. but with the witcher, with this saga, you get the benefit of a “low” work: the stakes which feel personal and intimate, the long standing development of the characters, the fandom excitement and buzz, and also the benfit of a “high” work: the allusions and intertextuality, the hidden meanings, the cleverness and play. it’s really the best of both worlds.

and the hussite trilogy takes this farther because it’s a historical fantasy so sapkowski could include as many historical and literary references as he desired… if they existed by the mid-15th century and were known in central europe. but that’s a LOT of sources to draw from already, pretty much an unimaginable well of context. and did i understand everything, no. i didn’t understand much. but i was pleasantly surprised because i understood more than i expected, and when i didn’t understand i could figure the intended meaning out through context clues. i mean, this proved to me that these references to other works are all just extra sauce anyways, to make the dish a bit richer and fuller…

it’s just nice metaphor, and a lot can be done with this. if you compare geralt to arthur or reynevan to lancelot (well… as HE believes himself to be…) … that makes the meaning sooo much deeper. i like this with “electra” most of all. i think we should all adopt classical or mythological psuedonyms that we feel represent us; these are shorthand for what we stand for and what we believe in, who we are. if you know a bit about just a few myths, you can extrapolate so much from just one name. this is also the case with fictional characters from the modern fantasy genre, so i see what sapkowski was getting at when he draws lines connecting the two.

the only reason i DON’T like it when he does this is because… i do feel a bit like: i went into a library to return a book, but instead of taking my book back, the portly old librarian wordlessly shoved two NEW stacks of books into my arms, then pushed me out the door back onto the street. because andrzej sapkowski is basically the offline version of a guy on forums who recommends you twenty new books every time you mention you enjoyed one. i cannot keep up! so now i have a reading list ten miles long. i think his recommendations and what he intertwined into the witcher will literally keep me occupied into my 30s. but that’s ok, i know what to bring now if i ever get abandoned on a deserted island.

for this reason, i think witcher is both the worst and the best introduction back into reading i could have asked for. if you dig for two seconds are basically handed a road map to not only the entire genre, but the wide open world of european literature, both western and eastern. and american literature too, which i think i’ll be giving a second go…

[soulhollow]

Uhtred's Feast, Bernard Cornwell

My name is Uhtred. I am the son of Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred and his father was also called Uhtred . . .

The Last Kingdom is one of the most successful historical fiction series of our time. The novels tell the epic story of the birth of England and introduces one of the greatest ever fictional heroes: the iconic Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the Saxon-born, Norse-raised warrior and rebel. In this lively compendium, Bernard Cornwell revisits Uhtred’s realm, illuminating elements of the Anglo-Saxon world he couldn’t fully explore in his novels.

Uhtred’s Feast offers rich background on the books of the Last Kingdom series, presenting a fascinating, detailed view of Anglo-Saxon life in all its splendor, danger, and beauty. With his narrative flair, Cornwell explores every aspect of this historical period, from the clothes to weapons to food, offering beautifully crafted recipes of early Anglo-Saxon fare, created by renowned UK chef Suzanne Pollak. In addition, he has written three new stories exclusive to this book that reveal the man behind the shield—Uhtred as a young boy, as Alfred’s advisor, and as prince.