In the city of York the people are expecting great news from the battle raging at Fulford Gate, but very quickly this mood changes as the populace begin to realise the way in which the fight is going and what it will probably mean for them.
Fulford Gate
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King Hardrada himself is painfully aware that his strength is spread out behind him and that his men are vulnerable to attack. It might seem like a good idea to go on the offensive at the very start of the battle, but it is the one thing that Coenred fears; he knows that the Saxon army lacks sufficient spears to achieve a victory that way.
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I found the task describing in detail how the two armies were constituted and deployed within the landscape quite difficult. I have read accounts of actual battles in other historical fiction novels and sometimes became lost as the conflict progressed. It was my intent to try and avoid that.
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This was also the first meeting between Mildryth and Edwin and it begins quite nervously. Through it I hoped to suggest some of the nervous excitement and anxiety that many of the people in the city might be feeling. There was a long history of conflict between the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings of course, and they were so closely matched that it was not possible to foretell the outcome.
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The moments immediately preceding the battle gave me an opportunity to describe the equipment and tactics that both the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings shared. They used the same weapons, straight swords, spears, and axes, as well as large wooden shields made to a circular pattern and often decorated with painted designs. I undertook a lot of research on this subject, a fact that more than one reviewer has congratulated me for.
The Forgotten Battle of 1066
Most British people can name at least one battle from 1066; the Battle of Hastings. In fact this is the one event that seems to encapsulate the very essence of 1066 as a subject; the killing of King Harold and (almost) inevitable Norman Conquest of England.Some people can also name a second, earlier encounter; the … Continue reading The Forgotten Battle of 1066
Peter C Whitaker 