Anglo-Saxon England

annis · Post by **annis** » Sun June 19th, 2011, 5:38 am

Posted by Carla

The apparently impossible requirements list is a bit of a motif in folktales.

Folktales usually contain universal truths of one sort or another and I suspect the impossible requirements list is a variation on the theme that the gods help those who help themselves

Carla · Post by **Carla** » Sun June 19th, 2011, 9:22 am

[quote=""annis""]Posted by Carla

Folktales usually contain universal truths of one sort or another and I suspect the impossible requirements list is a variation on the theme that the gods help those who help themselves

[/quote]

Very probably! Ragnar's list also reminds me of riddles, which were presumably just as much a feature of Norse culture as of Anglo-Saxon.

Kate139 · Post by **Kate139** » Sun June 19th, 2011, 12:20 pm

[quote=""annis""]Very true, Kate, and I'm sure we had a "king under the mountain" thread going at one stage...

Here it is:
http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/ ... g+mountain

What struck me about these particular two stories was their similarity - both supposedly buried specifically on headlands overlooking the sea, and so on.[/quote]

Thanks, 'Annis'. A very interesting lead. I enjoyed reading through it . . . the returning list of historicalfictiononline posts, buried in the ether, rising again to explain everything. How apt!! Don't know how you retain all that knowledge of what's where. but I'm impressed.

annis · Post by **annis** » Sun June 19th, 2011, 7:31 pm

Kate, for some bizarre reason I can recall random stuff like that really well - it's my short-term memory that's a goner - like, where did I put my car-keys 5 minutes ago?

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Mon June 20th, 2011, 4:38 am

Surely it's because the car keys aren't nearly as important in the overall scheme of things than all this beautiful historical trivia!

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Mon June 20th, 2011, 1:31 pm

I don't think they have been mentioned yet, but Susan King has two books out set in Scotland: Lady MacBeth and Queen Hereafter. There is also Anya Seton's The Mistletoe and the Sword. All really great books although I enjoyed Lady MacBethmore than Queen Hereafter.

annis · Post by **annis** » Mon June 20th, 2011, 9:04 pm

Isn't Queen Hereafter about the Anglo-Saxon princess, Margaret, who married Malcolm III of Scotland?

Not long ago I came across a historical mystery featuring Margaret's daughter Edith - Jeremy Potter's Death in the Forest (1977). It's set in the period following the Norman Conquest and features Edith of Scotland, the Rose of Romsey. Edith later married Henry I of England, and took the name Matilda. In a shrewd move Henry united Norman blood with that of the old English royal line. All three of William the Conqueror's sons appear in the novel and an unpleasant lot they are, too!

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Tue June 21st, 2011, 12:22 pm

[quote=""annis""]Isn't Queen Hereafter about the Anglo-Saxon princess, Margaret, who married Malcolm III of Scotland?[/quote]

Yes, but it starts right when William the Conqueror wins the Battle of Hastings, so I thought it might still count...

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue June 21st, 2011, 7:20 pm

If it features Anglo-Saxons it definitely does count

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Sun July 10th, 2011, 6:31 pm

So while on vacation, I purchased Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle for my Kindle. I've had a hard time reading on my Kindle-I can't really get into the books for some reason. I say that because I really did not enjoy The Eagle until the last 100 pages. I was very disappointed because I expected much more. I don't think I'll be reading the other two, or at least not right away.