Uncovering the past by Michelle Styles plus giveaway

 When I had the chance to return to writing Vikings, I jumped at it. Actually I lobbied quite hard for the chance after seeing the first season of Game of Thrones. I was allowed to do my Viking, but then I did another Victorian and The Powers that Be decided to put out the Victorian An Ideal Husband? before the Viking as I was going to be doing Vikings for Harlequin Historical for awhile.
It has been gratifying to see that there is now the Viking televisions series which has been renewed for a second season and in March 2014 the British Museum will be staging the largest Viking exhibition for over 30 years. There is a lot more to the Vikings than rape, pillage and violence. They were the last significant pagan society in mainland Europe. They also fundamentally changed Europe, particularly England. Many of the place names in Yorkshire and East Anglia come from Old Norse rather than from Anglo Saxon or Latin.  It is easy to forget how much of France is settled by Vikings.The Normans, of course were descendants of the Vikings and brought some of their culture with them when they conquered England. Of course, Sicily was conquered by Normans.
When I started writing, I knew I wanted to move away from Viken, Norway where I had set my earlier books. So I started researching and discovered that in 876, Halfdan, the new king of Jorvik and one of three leaders of the Great Heathen Horde settles his men on the captured land.It is why Yorkshire was traditionally divided into ridings as it was Norse way of administration, rather than an Anglo Saxon method.
No one quite knows why he did this. Previously he had been fighting more to the south against Wessex with his brother Guthram. It is quite possible that there was an unspecified disturbance. About this time the kingdon of Northumbria is also divided into Jorvik and the client kingdom of Bernicia which is basically the modern day counties of Durham and Northumberland.  By 878 Halfdan is dead and the kingship of Jorvik is unsettled.
Interestingly further south, Guthram without his older brother's help suddenly has trouble with King Alfred and loses at Edington. It is generally portrayed as a great Anglo Saxon victory (which it was) but how much of it depended on the Vikings' own internal politics is lost to time. It does surprise me that commentators do not remark on the Viking's political reality, preferring to concentrate on the truth as the Anglo Saxon Chroniclers saw it.
What is interesting though is that within a generation or two of settling in a Christian land, the Vikings did give up their pagan ways. You can tell this by the change in burial custom as well as the addition of Christian forenames to Viking surnames.  Also the Christian church made it easy. Many aspects of a traditional English Christmas find their origin in the Viking Jule celebration. The Dark Ages are considered dark because there is little written word. However, the past can be uncovered if one is willing to search for it.

Giveaway

Paying the Viking's Price is published on 1 November in UK, North America as well as Australia and New Zealand.  To have a chance to win a signed copy, please send email the answer to the following question  to constest@michellestyles.co.uk :: What is the first action Brand Bjornson takes in the book? (hint read the excerpt). Please put Totebags contest in the subject line as I do get a lot of spam. I will draw the winner on 22 October.

By the way, the cover model for Paying the Viking's Price is Taylor David. I think he makes a very yummy Viking.

The blurb reads like  this:

ORDERED TO THE VIKING'S BED!

Feared warrior Brand Bjornson has finally got what he's striven for—lands of his own, granted to him by his king. But his new estate, Breckon, holds more than a few surprises—not least the intriguingly beautiful Edith, former Lady of Breckon.

Proud Edith refuses to abandon her lands to the mercy of Viking invaders, and impressed by her courage, Brand agrees she can stay. He has one condition—that she should become his concubine!

Bringing Light to the Dark Ages

The trouble with writing about the Dark Ages is that the primary evidence can often be fragmentary and hard to find. For example, even today, we are still not completely sure of the names of the kings who followed Halfdan in the Kingdom of Jorvik. Or we know that the second battle of Corbridge happened in 962 between the Vikings and the Scots but we have no idea when the first battle happened or indeed if it happened at all.

However our general knowledge of the Anglo Saxon period is better than it could have been – thanks to one man – Matthew Parker. He worked for Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries and amassed a huge collection of illuminated manuscripts and Anglo-Saxon writing. When someone is called a nosy Parker, it is Matthew Parker they are referring to.  When he died, he left his personal library to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge where he had been Master. It remains today one of the most important resources for early Medieval manuscripts and rare books.  Among other treasures, it has the Corpus Glossary which is the earliest dictionary in English and dates from around 800 AD. It also has the Anglo Saxon Chronicles.

It used to be that you had to apply to the Parker Library to able to see various books (which they might or might not grant)  but thanks to a cooperation between Stanford University and the Parker Library, various manuscripts are on the web. You can subscribe or you can take the more basic option. For example, you can see the Corpus Glossary  online. For me, it is incredible to think that monks were busy writing this just after the Vikings had invaded Lindesfarne in 793.  The Corpus Glossary was on display when I recently the Parker -- turned to the word Musica or the first time music was written in English. There are Latin and Greek defnitions of the words running next to them.

If you are interested in learning more about the library and its books. They do run a blog.   It is also full of interesting information about various up and coming television programmes which have used the Parker library as a backdrop. They also have interesting information about more unusual pieces in the Corpus Christi collection, including the medieval drinking horn which is still used when students become members of the college —something which shocked the V&A a few years ago when it was sent for cleaning.

Horns used to be used in the giving of lands. It was called cornage.  The Pusey horn which is in the V &A museum was reputedly given to the Pusey family as a thank you for a warning about an impending attack from the Danes is probably the most famous surviving example. You can see a picture of it here.

If you want to see the Parker Library, Visit Cambridge does run tours on a Thursday afternoon but they have to be booked in advance. The tour also includes parts of Corpus Christi College.

But it is thanks to Matthew Parker’s foresight that we have more of a glimpse into the hidden Anglo Saxon world than we would have otherwise. And thanks to the web, it is easier for authors of Viking historical romances to find out about the period... The amount is research which is involved in writing is much more than the factiods which appear on the page. And it can be very frustrating when you want to know more but the information just has been lost.

My next book, Paying the Viking’s Price is released on 1 November 2013 and takes place in Northumbria in 876.  And because of the Parker Library’s collection, my research was made easier.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods. You can visit her website www.michellestyles.co.uk to learn more about Michelle and her books.

Why I love a warrior hero By Michelle Styles

From paranormal to historical and contemporary, there is just something about a warrior. And for me as well enjoying reading about them, there is just something extra special about writing a warrior hero. I love exploring his possibilities and depths.

So what is it  a warrior that appeals?

A warrior is the ultimate alpha hero.  He is not a savage or a brute but someone who knows both sides of human behaviour.

He is someone who can be very dangerous and more than a bit untamed. He has been in life- threatening situations and is not afraid to kill. Far from being an indiscriminate psychopath who takes pleasure in killing or hurting people, he has a code and only fights when necessary.   He also knows the cost of killing.  He is someone who will have lost people close to him because it is the nature of his job.

He has a strong streak of loyalty. He may fight for his country or cause but ultimately he fights for his friends. And those bonds are strong. His fellow warriors become his brothers. And those he loves and cares about, he is willing to fight for.  He will put himself in danger for those he loves. He knows how to lead but he is also not afraid to follow.

He has a strong protective streak as he seen the cost of failure. He seeks to shield people from danger rather than putting them into danger. This will often cause conflict with the heroine as she will be strong willed and utterly determined. A strong hero requires an even stronger heroine so the sparks can really fly!

It also helps that because he is a warrior, he will be in great physical shape as he has to make sure that he protect and defend.  But he can carry both physical and mental scars from the battles he has fought. Often times he has to learn to trust women again or to be able to re-enter civilised society rather than existing on a war footing all the time.

My next Viking will be out in November 2013  — Paying the Viking’s Price  and is about an Anglo Saxon lady who has to become a Viking warrior’s concubine in order to protect her people.  I have two other Vikings in the works, including the one which I am currently revising.  Warriors are just really fun to write about and to read about. I hope other people agree.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods. You can learn more about her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk