Canadian Historical Fiction Author Explores Viking Era in The Atheling Chronicles
Thank you, Readers Magnet, for inviting me into your Authors’ Lounge.
I am a Canadian writer of historical fiction who sometimes branches out into other genres. My series, The Atheling Chronicles, is set in the third and fourth decades of the eleventh century when the Danish Viking King Cnute wore the crown of Engla-lond, as well as the crowns of Denmark and parts of Norway, which is a lot of crowns for a man with only one head. My protagonist is the king’s middle son, Harald Harefoot, about whom little is known (beyond his skill in running—hence the byname).
Harald Harefoot’s Journey: From Young Warrior to Determined Landowner in The Atheling Chronicles
My Harald begins as an eager, impetuous young warrior who joins his father on a trip to Rome for the coronation by the Pope of the Holy Roman Emperor. Book #1 of The Atheling Chronicles. The Swan’s Road, takes the reader on a journey across Europe at the end of the Early Middle Ages. Harald faces a powerful enemy, Robert the Devil, Duke of Normandy, and meets the love of his life, Selia Fehr. History records Cnute’s presence in Rome at the coronation; the rest is fiction.
As the series continues, Harald and Selia marry and attempt to distance themselves from the king’s court. Harald has no ambition to be king and disdains a life spent vying for power. But as Harald and Selia work at becoming settled landowners, the king’s enemies and his own foes disturb their peace. The couple face adversities and adversaries but both grow in their determination not to be pawns of the powerful.
Exploring Eleventh-Century Rivalries and Realities in The Atheling Chronicles
‘Atheling’ is a term meaning ‘throne-worthy’ in Old English. In line for the thrones of Cnute’s kingdoms are Harald, his brother Sweyn, his half-brother Harthacnute, and his cousins Alfred and Edward. All are ‘athelings.’ Harald loathes his brothers and distrusts his cousins. And Cnute’s wife, his stepmother Queen Emma, wishes him gone. Cnute and Emma’s son Harthacnute is the designated heir to the throne.
With historical figures and events, a writer must wend their way through what is known while creating what could also have been true. I research extensively and attempt to provide the reader with a picture of life in the eleventh century. I pepper my stories with Old English and Old Norse terms and try to break down misleading stereotypes of the Middle Ages. There are no horned viking helmets in my novels.
Harald Harefoot’s Struggles for Power and Integrity in The Atheling Chronicles
By book #3, The Cold Hearth. Harald begins to realize he must try to establish allies among the thegns and earls. His Harthacnute will have him killed when his half-brother becomes king. Harald worries that to protect his family, he may have to pursue his own claim to the throne.
In book #4, The Sea’s Edge. Harald agrees to sail to the Kingdom of Dublin as King Cnute’s representative, to ensure the joint English-Dublin invasion of Northern Wales goes ahead as planned. The more Harald discovers about the allied kings and the Welsh king they wish to overthrow, the more he admires his Welsh foe. Harald is torn between remaining loyal to his father/king and doing what is right. In this novel, Harald learns to lead others in battle, but discovers statecraft requires skills he does not possess.
Bringing Eleventh-Century Lives to Light: Human Universals in Historical Fiction
In writing about the eleventh century, I follow my belief that a thousand years ago, though people may have had more simplistic understandings and localized knowledge, they were fundamentally the same as us. Folk worked, feasted, made friends with like-minded souls, loved passionately, suffered over the death of a child, made errors in judgement, harboured resentments, and committed crimes. What was different was the technology. The closeness and frequency of death, and the stationary position, geographically and socially, that rooted the common man and woman.
I like to show my characters teasing and joking, enjoying moments when freed from labour. With Harald and Selia, I wish to portray two strong personalities loving and respecting each other, united against the forces that wish to destroy them. Within their relationship there is loving, disagreement, reconciliation, and growing wisdom.
So, The Atheling Chronicles is a series that contains adventure, humour, violence, and romance—and a setting so accurate you are bound to learn something.
The Atheling Chronicles is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J2VLQG3) and all the other outlets. (Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc.) in eBook form. Print editions should be available before the end of the year. Check out my website: http://www.garthpettersen.com/. My FaceBook page: http://www.facebook.com/writeandride/. And sign up for my monthly newsletter where I spin tales and give insights about books, writing, and the Middle Ages: Subscription | Garth Pettersen
Happy reading.
