Thinking back to when I started writing this book, I have to admit that I did not know where I was going to go with it. My research into the period, and particularly 1066 itself, had revealed that there were three battles of significance in that year, but I was only aware of two of them; the Battle of Fulford Gate was something of a surprise. I have to admit that in hindsight I do not know why this has become a forgotten battle as far as the public and casual scholars are concerned. It was clear from the evidence that the eorls, Edwin and Morcar, were expected to close the gates of York and use their army to man the walls against the invading Vikings. Everything about their situation indicated that this was the right thing to do. Instead, they chose to fight a pitched battle. It was this decision that cast the kingdom into crisis, but it often seems to be little more than footnote in most historical accounts of the time.

One of the fortunate things to come out of this discovery, however, was that it gave me a character who would link all three events together, the huscarl, Coenred. It was obvious that only a warrior could fulfil this role, but I did not want him to be a hack and slash hero. Huscarls, like many professional warriors, were governed by a sense of honour. They dedicated their lives to their lord and swore an oath to either protect his life on the battlefield or, if he fell, kill all of his enemies, or die trying. Huscarls also had a duty to protect their lord’s property and people too. This concept of obligation was not unique to the Saxons of course, but in the huscarl it was very evident and gave them a sense of honour that I felt could make Coenred an interesting character.

One of the problems of writing a book based on war is, I think, that it often relegates female characters to supporting roles only. There was no evidence of women warriors in Saxon armies when I did my research. I wanted a strong female character too. Mildryth is a woman who had a station in life but has been reduced to being a widow when her husband was murdered by Tostig Godwinson, then Eorl of Northumbria, along with their son. There was an infamous event in which Tostig invited a number of theigns to discuss their longstanding grievances with him and had them all murdered, it did not seem too much of a stretch to have Mildryth’s husband attend that tragic meeting. I once read that a man protects a woman not because she is weak but because she is important. The women in my life are certainly important to me. Coenred extends his protection over Mildryth because he feels honour-bound to do so, but a huscarl’s protection is against people like the Saxons’ ancient enemy, the Vikings, so Mildryth has to cope with the unwanted attentions of the rogue Wulfhere by herself. Fortunately, she proves to be a very capable woman.

Another aspect that I felt was very important was the impact of the great events on normal people. It easy to get distracted by the glamour of kings and dukes, but it is true that it is the lower classes that suffer the greatest burden of war. Creating peasant characters like Branda and Edwin, Coenred’s shield-bearer, allowed me to examine how the outcome of a battle like Fulford Gate often have terrible consequences for both the lives and characters of such people.