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battle of hastings

annis
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Post by annis » Fri January 29th, 2010, 5:09 pm

That's funny, Ben :) DNA sampling can lead to some unexpected results. I remember reading of a study some years ago (something to do with family genetics, I think) which was hastily and discreetly abandoned when it was discovered that many of the children sampled had DNA which could not have come from their purported fathers!

There've been quite a few novels about Hereward the Wake over the years, several fairly recent, which cover the English resistance movement. I reckon I might be able to one-up you guys with my copy of Geoff Boxell's book "Woden's Wolf", because as far as I know it was only published in New Zealand and is now OP. It's a story which features Edric the Wild, and is quite memorably violent and sadistic! I'd read quite a bit of Geoff's stuff about the Anglo-Saxon/Norman Conquest era before I realised that he lived at my own back door, so to speak.

Just thought I'd add this piece by Geoff about the fate of King Harold's family post Battle of Hastings, which I found interesting.
http://geoffboxell.tripod.com/family.htm

I was particularly intrigued by the story of Harold's daughter, Gunnhild:

"Another of King Harold's daughters by Edith Swan-neck, Gunnhild, was a nun at Wilton. She may have fled there after the defeat at the Battle of Hastings, but more likely she had been sent there originally to be educated as her aunt, King Edward the Confessor's wife Edith, had been. Initially she remained there as a refugee from the Normans, using the veil as her protection. With her was Edith, Edgar Æþeling's niece, later to be the wife of King Henry I of England. Gunnhild may have sought refuge from the Normans, but later they seem to have used the nunnery as a prison to prevent her from being involved in any threat to their power. The threat and controversy did in fact arise, but from a Breton rather than an English source. Alan the Red, Earl of Richmond, abducted Gunnhild in August 1093.

Alan had been given lands that had belonged to Edith Swan Neck. Alan must have felt that, being married, though maybe only in the hand fast manner, to Edith's daughter, would help him gain the co-operation of the locals. Gunnhild seemed happy with the arrangement. Whilst living with Alan the Red she defied the attempts of Anslem, Archbishop of Canterbury, to get her to go back to the nunnery, saying that she had never formally taken the veil. Anslem later found out that she had in fact taken vows. Meantime Alan the Red had died and Gunnhild had taken up with his brother and successor, Alan the Black! Despite the strong terms he used in trying yet again to unsuccessfully get Gunnhild to return to being a nun, Anslem remained very respectful acknowledging her noble and royal lineage."
Last edited by annis on Fri January 29th, 2010, 7:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Leo62
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Post by Leo62 » Fri January 29th, 2010, 5:15 pm

[quote=""parthianbow""]an interesting TV programme about 3 years ago, which took DNA from people who were diehard 'English', to determine their racial origins. I'm talking 'You can't be English unless your family has lived here for 1000 years or more' kind-of-people, if you get my drift.
Anyway, one of the most diehard was a woman (a solicitor, or lawyer) who had an organisation based in/around Battle, where the battle of Hastings took place. One couldn't join her little gang unless one could prove English ancestry as far back as 1066. I kid you not. Hilariously, her DNA revealed that she had some Romany gypsy blood! :D :D :D What did she do? Threatened to sue the TV programme for falsifying the results, or similar. I laughed so hard that my non-English socks nearly fell off. :eek:
[/quote]

I remember that programme. It was indeed a hoot. :D
listen:there's a hell
of a good universe next door;let's go
ee cummings

annis
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Post by annis » Sat January 30th, 2010, 8:27 pm

Thought I'd add Norah Loft's "Madselin", a novel which I suppose you'd call historical romance, but more in the style of an Elizabeth Chadwick novel than a modern bodice-ripper!


This is well ahead, but thought I'd put in a mention.

Justin Hill has a proposed two book series (known as the Conquest series) under contract, with the first one due out mid-2011. Set in England "against the background of the 11th century Viking and Norman invasions it is a breathtaking evocation of feudal England, as well as being full of visceral excitement’.

http://justinhillauthor.blogspot.com/20 ... gency.html

Hill's "Passing Under Heaven" is one of my favourite novels, so I'll be keeping a look out for this new series.

annis
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Post by annis » Sat January 30th, 2010, 8:39 pm

Valerie Anand's "Gildenford" is the first in a trilogy set around the Norman Conquest.

Book 2 is "The Norman Pretender" ( Battle of Hastings from the POV of two brothers fighting on opposite sides) and Book 3 "The Disputed Crown" (English resistance post Battle of Hastings) Both are unfortunately worth a small fortune on the secondhand book market-- definitely library interloan material!

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Ariadne
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Post by Ariadne » Sat January 30th, 2010, 11:28 pm

The Norman Pretender is one of my favorite of Anand's, outside of the Bridges Over Time series. Well worth seeking out. I hadn't known it was so expensive! Mine is without a dust jacket, so I don't expect it's nearly as valuable.

Annis and Carla, I think you've come up with most of the novels I know about. I'll take a look through my collection for others.

annis
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Post by annis » Sun January 31st, 2010, 4:35 am

Seeing we've mentioned "The Winter Mantle", I guess we should also mention Juliet Dymoke's novel about Waltheof, Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria at the time of the Norman Conquest. It's called "Of the Ring of Earls".

annis
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Post by annis » Sun February 21st, 2010, 3:49 am

In honour of LH's forthcoming interview with Old Bill, here's a novel about William the Conqueror's early years, which I recently came across. Has anyone read it?

Lide, Mary, "Fortune's Knave", pub. 1992,

"William the Conqueror, born a bastard and left to defend his dubious birthright while still a child, comes of age at the French court, rife with treachery and betrayal. Matilda of Flanders, his hard-won consort, fans the flame of his ambition as they plan a future that will change the course of English history".

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SarahWoodbury
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Post by SarahWoodbury » Sun February 21st, 2010, 6:03 pm

Parke Godwin's Sherwood is set at the time of the Norman Conquest and covers it, even if the story is primarily a Robin Hood. I loved, loved, loved that book.

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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Sun February 21st, 2010, 9:51 pm

[quote=""annis""]In honour of LH's forthcoming interview with Old Bill, here's a novel about William the Conqueror's early years, which I recently came across. Has anyone read it?

Lide, Mary, "Fortune's Knave", pub. 1992,

"William the Conqueror, born a bastard and left to defend his dubious birthright while still a child, comes of age at the French court, rife with treachery and betrayal. Matilda of Flanders, his hard-won consort, fans the flame of his ambition as they plan a future that will change the course of English history".[/quote]

I haven't Annis, but is Mary Lide the same author who wrote Anne of Cambray (sp?) If so, my editor used to edit her.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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Amanda
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Post by Amanda » Sun February 21st, 2010, 11:07 pm

[quote=""EC2""]I haven't Annis, but is Mary Lide the same author who wrote Anne of Cambray (sp?) If so, my editor used to edit her.[/quote]

Yes it is the same! I picked up Anne of Cambray just a couple of weeks ago.

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