Having written a book of a very different nature to the previous volumes in the Sorrow Song trilogy I decided to re-read both The War Wolf and For Rapture of Ravens so as to immerse myself back into the world of 1066 once again. I know, some might wonder why this is necessary when I … Continue reading Typographical Errors
sorrow song trilogy
POV – Literally a Point of View
In a novel the ‘point of view’ (POV) is considered one of the most crucial elements of telling a story. I had a customer complain about the fact that in ‘The War Wolf’ I used what seemed to them to be many or multiple points of view. To date they are the only person to … Continue reading POV – Literally a Point of View
Returning to the Sorrow Song Trilogy
Writing Eugenica was something of an interruption to completing the Sorrow Song Trilogy in that it was both unplanned and unexpected. I think that at the time I finished For Rapture of Ravens, the second in the series, I needed a break from all things 1066. Eugenica gave me that break. Now, however, it is … Continue reading Returning to the Sorrow Song Trilogy
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Aethelings and the Eoldermen
As you would expect with any society that was characterised by a hierarchical class system there would be the top class who were defined by their wealth and by the power that they wielded. In the Anglo-Saxon world the upper class were known as the aethelings, who were principally the royal family. The king was … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Aethelings and the Eoldermen
The Battles of Brunanburh and of Maldon
The Battle of Brunanburgh is both important and significant to the Anglo-Saxon peoples because not only did it lead to the establishment of England as a single kingdom. It was also widely reported in many different sources and various languages including Old English, Middle English, Latin, Irish, Welsh, and Icelandic.Under Aethelstan, the King of the … Continue reading The Battles of Brunanburh and of Maldon
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns
Above the ceorls, the peasants of the Anglo-Saxon world, sat the ‘theigns’. They were to all intents and purposes the middle class. To qualify as a theign a man needed to own a minimum of 5 hides of land. A hide was not an exact measurement in Anglo-Saxon England but roughly equated to enough land … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns
What is a huscarl?
A huscarl was a Saxon warrior. They were generally rich men in that they had to be able to afford to equip themselves with at least two horses, steel mail armour, a steel helmet, weapons such as a fighting spear, throwing spears, a Dane-axe, a shield and, perhaps most importantly, a gold decorated two edged … Continue reading What is a huscarl?
Just My Imagination
It is funny how the act of writing is the same as creating a new fantasy world. I used to do that as a child, create my own worlds peopled by fantastic characters from pop culture and the books I read, and dinosaurs! Always dinosaurs! Having decided to write the book and then immersed myself … Continue reading Just My Imagination
I’ll Write a Book One Day!
It’s a common enough assertion but I expect very few people, relatively speaking, actually make the attempt. It is not surprising really, I mean, the idea of writing a book seems so easy, you sit down with a pen or typewriter or word processor or ipad or whatever takes your fancy, a blank sheet, and … Continue reading I’ll Write a Book One Day!
Peter C Whitaker 