It’s happy release day to Shield of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel. It’s going to get cold (and then rather hot). #newrelease #histfic #TheEagleofMerciaChornicles

I ‘attempted’ to recreate a Saxon poem about winter in Shield of Mercia. What do you think?

Many famous poems from Saxon England reveal a fascination with winter, almost a horror of its ravages, which we might not appreciate with our central heating, fleeces and ability to eat well. 

The Menologium, a calendar poem from the period, states that winter ran from the 7th of November to the 6th of February, and I really love the imagery in The Menologium, as translated by Eleanor Parker, in her fascinating Winters of the World (the title really does say it all).

‘After [All Saints’ Day] comes Winter’s Day, far and wide

Six nights later, and seizes sun-bright autumn

With its army of ice and snow,

Fettered with frost by the Lord’s command,

So that the green fields may no longer stay with us,

The ornaments of the earth.’

p41 from E Parker’s translation of The Menologium in Winters of the World.

Here’s the blurb

Mercia is triumphant. Her king is safe. But Wessex was never Mercia’s only enemy. 

Tamworth, AD836

Following a brutally cold winter, King Wiglaf of Mercia is in the ascendancy. Even Wessex’s Archbishop of Canterbury extraordinarily ventures to Mercia to broker a religious accord. But, can the hard-won peace prevail?

Viking raiders threaten Wessex. These blood-thirsty warriors are fast, skilful and have no reticence about killing those who stand in their way. Their aim isn’t to rule but to overwhelm, slaughter and take ill-gotten wealth.

King Wiglaf is no fool. As the Vikings push to overwhelm Wessex, Mercia’s lands look insecure. King Wiglaf needs the shields of Mercia’s warriors to prevent the overwhelming advancement of their deadliest enemy yet.

To save Mercia, Icel must first prevail over the two men who mean to end his life; King Ecgberht of Wessex and his son, Æthelwulf of Kent and only then the marauding Viking army for whom boundaries have no meaning.

https://amzn.to/4lg5sLP

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