"No, Master. At the moment I prefer the rustic serenity of Kiev to the excitement of Constantinople. Perhaps one day it would be nice to visit . . . but not now. I am well content here.
Ambrose turned to Phillip. "What say you, Sword-master? What are your thoughts?"
"To honour our commitment to Gunnar of the Rus, to try and keep you out of trouble . . .And to see you safely home one day."
Ambrose looked at his two companions fondly. They were an odd trio, yet each complemented the other. Together, he felt that they were an unbeatable team!
"Well then, my friends. Let us toast to our future in Kiev. One day I must return to my brother's land . . . but that's in the future sometime. Let us settle here a while, and make Gunnar proud! My friends, a toast! To the traders of Kiev!"
###
APPENDIX I
CHARACTERS.
ALDRICH: (Fictitious) is one of the Saxon officers killed when Ambrose is captured by Viking raiders.
AMBROSE: (Fictitious) Anglo-Saxon bastard prince of Wessex, he is but a youngster when a Viking raid makes him captive. In turn, he was slave to Canute the Dane, and then trader for Gunnar of the Rus. After considerable adventures, Ambrose becomes a trader of Kiev, helping to organize the river trade from Gunnar's domains in the north to the city of Constantinople in the south.
ANNA: (Fictitious) A young Saxon slave of Canute's, she is Ambrose's first lover. As she is pregnant, Ambrose must leave her behind to save Phillip's life.
ASKOLD: He, with his cousin Dir, are the Rus leaders who left Novgorod to settle at Kiev, a city they feel will be best able to control the Russian-Byzantine river trade. Under their leadership the Dnieper River region comes under Varangian control.
BJOURN: (Fictitious) A drunken lout who challenges Ambrose to combat at the gathering at Lake Ladoga.
BOSK: (Fictitious) A servant of Gunnar.
BOTHI: (Fictitious) A cousin of Rurik, he holds a fief near Novgorod, and rules with unnecessary cruelty. Ambrose buys Kuralla from him to save her life.
CANUTE: (Fictitious) Ambrose's Danish master, he treats Ambrose as an adopted son, and arranges that Ambrose and his party will be given refuge in Sweden.
CARL THE BRAVE: (Fictitious) Father of Gunnar of the Rus.
DAEL: (Fictitious) is Ambrose's aged tutor, who is killed by the Vikings when Ambrose is captured.
DIR: See ASKOLD.
EADWARD: (Fictitious) He is one of the Saxon officers under Phillip who are killed when Ambrose is captured.
ERIC THE ROUND: (Fictitious) He is the chief of the isolated Norwegian village where Ambrose, Polonius and Phillip land after fleeing Denmark.
ETHELBALD: Eldest son of Ethelwulf. He seized the throne in his father's absence, but agreed to let Ethelwulf rule the kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Surrey, and Sussex. He ruled from 858 to 860, when he died suddenly.
ETHELBERT: He was crowned king of Wessex upon the death of his brother Ethelbald (860). He re-united the subject kingdoms with Wessex. He died in 865, and was succeeded on the throne by ETHELRED.
GUNNAR: (Fictitious) Head of a great Swedish trading House, he owed a debt to Ambrose's former master, and paid it by allowing Ambrose, Phillip and Polonius to act as traders for him on the Russian River systems.
HAMMAR: (Fictitious) One of Gunnar's karve captains.
HANS: (Fictitious) He is the steward of Gunnar of the Rus.
IVAN: (Fictitious) A Slav peasant who was declared outlaw by Bothi. He wounded Phillip, but Ambrose spared his life.
JORN: (Fictitious) The son of Canute, who was some years earlier killed in a skirmish in Frankland.
KELL: (Fictitious) Is the Norse blacksmith.
KATARZ: (Fictitious) Is the Pecheneg prisoner captured just after the siege of Kiev.
KIARR: (Fictitious) The eldest of the village youths in the Danish town where Ambrose is held captive.
KURALLA: (Fictitious) She is a Slav chieftain's daughter whose village defies Bothi. Her father is tortured and killed, and she is about to be given to the warriors when Ambrose purchases her to save her life. After Ambrose abuses her, she marries Polonius.
LATHAM: (Fictitious) He is the Norse bowyer.
LARS: (Fictitious) He is the son of LIEF THE DRUNKARD. It is he who beat Philip almost to death.
LIEF THE DRUNKARD: (Fictitious) The cruel Danish master of Phillip. It was he who offered Phillip up as a sacrifice to Odin.
OLAF: (Fictitious) He is the portly and influential Slav at who grudgingly agreed to share power with Dir, Askold and the other colonists when they arrived at Kiev.
PHILLIP: (Fictitious) A giant of a man, he is a thane and has appointed himself guardian of Ambrose. Where-ever Ambrose goes, there will be Phillip. His great goal in life is to protect his prince and get him home.
POLONIUS: (Fictitious) He is born to noble Byzantine parents, and given an excellent education. When his family has financial reverses, he and his sisters are sold into slavery. He is taken to Lombardy, France, and eventually Frisia. There, he chances to meet Ambrose and Phillip, and has adventures with them that take him to Norway, Sweden, and the Ukraine.
RAGNAR: (Fictitious) He is one of Bothi's lieutenants.
RURIK: He is the Rus chieftain that led the expedition to Novgorod. Once settled there, he becomes ruler.
UIGBIORN: (Fictitious) He is the veteran warrior who undertakes the training of the village boys in the town where Ambrose is held captive. Return
APPENDIX II
GLOSSARY
A-Viking: Go raiding.
AEGIR: Was the god of the sea. He was a personification of the ocean. He caused storms with his anger and it was said a ship went into "Aegir's wide jaws" when it sank.
ANGLELAND: For my purposes, it's England.
ATHELING: An ATHELING was a royal prince. The Saxon kings were chosen from amongst their ranks by the WITAN, or council.
BONDI: Was a truly free and land-holding farmer. From this class came many of the traders and hunters, sailors and raiders.
BRETWALDA: or over-king, was one of the kings of the various Angle, Saxon, or Jute kingdoms who was so much more powerful than the others that he was officially recognized as being the 'chief' king of the entire island.
A BUCKLER is a shield.
BURH: A Saxon fortified Great Hall, which belonged to an Ealdorman or the king.
CONSTANTINOPLE: The capital and chief city of the Byzantine Empire. A city of possibly half a million people, it was heavily fortified. It was also a very important trading centre. The Vikings just called it 'big city, or Miklagard.
DRAGON SHIP: The largest Viking warship, it was up to 160 feet in length, and had up to 72 oars. It could carry a crew of up to 300.
EALDORMAN: A nobleman next in power to the royal princes. The Saxon kingdom of WESSEX was divided into shires, and an Ealdorman was in charge of each SHIRE. It was the Ealdorman who called out the FYRD, or local militia.
FIDLA: A Viking fiddle.
FRANKLAND: The land of the Franks. Under Charlemagne, this included modern France, and Germany, and a good portion of the rest of Western Europe.
FREEDMAN: Generally a thrall who had bought his freedom, he was still somewhat dependent on his former owner to champion him.
FYRD: Militias made up of thanes and churls. For every five hides of land, one fyrdman, mounted and armed, was obliged to answer the call-to-arms.
HOLMGARD: Viking name for Novgorod.
HOLMGANG: A ritualized duel.
JARL: Important Viking land-owners, they acted as priests and judges.
KARVE: Viking utility craft with a draft of less than three feet.
KHAGAN: Khazar King.
KHAN: Leader.
KHAZARS: A strong nomad tribe that was quite supportive of trade, and controlled the territory where the Dnieper River enters the Black Sea.
KIEV: was a town just north of the open steppes on the Dnieper River. It was apparently seized by Dir and Askold sometime soon after 860 A.D.; after the death of three brothers
who had ruled there.
KNARR: is a short, deep-keeled and beamy vessel that could carry up to 15 tons of cargo. Unlike most Viking vessels, it relied mainly on sails rather than oars.
LOKI: He is the god of mischief, who liked to play tricks.
A LONG-SHIP was a Viking sea-going vessel somewhat smaller than the dragon ship. It was up to a hundred feet in length, and carried up to 200 crewmen.
MARCH: A MARCH is a border region; one that may need to be defended.
MIKLAGARD: or NEW ROME is the Byzantine capital of Constantinople.
MJOLLNIR: Thor's hammer.
NARVESUND: The Viking name for the Straits of Gibraltar.
NIGHT: The Saxons counted days by referring to the 'nights'. Thus a 'week ago' was a 'seven night'.
NORN: Supernatural beings who were often represented as three maidens who wove the fate of men.
NORSE: Norwegian.
NOVGOROD: A town where legend has it that Rus settlers were invited (circa 860 A.D.) to come and rule, in return for their military protection.
ODIN: Viking god of wisdom and war.
PERUN: The Slavic god of thunder and lightening.
PONTUS EUXINUS: Is the Black Sea.
RAGNAROK: The time when the giants were supposed to come and destroy the world as men knew it.
RUS: I am presuming that Dir, Askold, and the majority of the warriors were Rus. When I am sure that I am referring specifically to a Rus warrior, migration or leader, I will use 'Rus'. I use the word 'Varangian' to refer to any combined forces, even if the majority of them is composed of the Rus tribesmen.
SAX: A Viking long knife.
The SEVEN CATARACTS were on Dnieper, and they were a major problem for boats going up or down river.
SHIELDBURG: Turtle formation.
SKAGERAK: The narrow area between the coasts of Denmark and Sweden.
SKJALDBORG: Viking shield-wall.
THANE: A Saxon nobleman.
THING: The Viking assembly of free men that acted as a council.
THRALL: Viking slave.
ULL: The Norse god of archery and the hunt. He was called upon for help in duels.
VARANGIAN: I use it to mean the various Viking tribes that travelled the Russian rivers. The Rus were but one of the Varangian tribes.
VIKING SEA: Black Sea.
WERGELD: Money paid as compensation for injury inflicted on another.
Royal Seat at WINCHESTER: Ethelwulf's (839-858) capital was at Winchester, though the royal court customarily travelled throughout the kingdom, staying at various royal estates for carefully circumscribed periods of time.
The WITAN, or Council, had the right to choose the next king from amongst any of the royal ATHELINGS, or princes. The usual tradition, however, was for the council to choose the eldest son.
WYK TE DUURSTEDE: A major port of the Frisians. While conquered by the Franks and then attacked by the Vikings, it was still considered to be a major port in Alfred's time. It was also involved in the slave trade.
Return
APPENDIX III
THE HISTORY OF WESSEX, OF RUSSIA, AND OF AMBROSE AND HIS FRIENDS IN THE NINTH CENTURY AD.
HISTORICAL FACTS ARE UNDERLINED.
793: First recorded attack by (Norwegian) Vikings on England.
832-865 AD.: Danish Vikings attack East Anglia, Wessex, Kent.
838: Cornwall surrenders to Wessex.
847: The king's mistress gives birth to AMBROSE.
849: Alfred the Great is born.
850: Vikings winter in Kent for the first time.
853: Alfred is sent to Rome where he is made a Consul by the Pope.
855: Ethelwulf, king of Wessex, takes his son Alfred to Rome again.
856: Ivar the Boneless and Olaf the White takes Dublin.
858: Ethelwulf dies. Ethelbald become king.
(TRADER OF KIEV)
860: Ethelbert becomes king.Vikings sack Winchester before being driven out of Wessex. Ambrose and Phillip are enslaved in a raid on the coast of Wessex.
861: Pope Nicholas send envoys to Constantinople to investigate Photius' ascension as patriarch.
862: Rurik, a leader of Varangian Rus Vikings, is invited to rule at Novgorod.
Ambrose, Polonius and Phillip arrive in Sweden after escaping from Denmark. Pursued by their former masters, they hurriedly agree to go south with Rurik and his Rus tribesmen.
863: Dir and Askold, Rus jarls, take over the Slavic town of Kiev. Nib There seems to be considerable debate about both this date and whether Dir and Askold really existed.
After setting up trading posts in Novgorod, the friends join Dir and Askold's force going south to Kiev.
864: The Pechenegs, a savage steppes tribe, attacks Kiev. Only with Polonius' expert help, and the fanatical fighting bravery of the Vikings, do they survive. An attack on the Pechenegs at their most vulnerable point not only ends the siege, but forces the Pechenegs to pay to cross the Dnieper River.
(EMISSARY TO BYZANTIUM)
865: Kent is invaded by a Viking force and Danegeld is paid for the first time to stop the destruction. The Great Army (Danish Vikings) arrive in East Anglia from France. Dir and Askold lead a combined Slav and Varangian force against Constantinople because of a perceived injustice. With both the Byzantine fleet and army away, they manage to do considerable damage, although they never seriously threaten the city. On the way home, a savage storm sinks many of the Viking and Slav ships. Meantime, Kuralla is kidnapped in Kiev. That there was an attack by Varangians, and a storm, within a few years of this date seems inconvertible. Since the Russian Primary Chronicles set the date somewhere between 863 to 867, I arbitrarily assigned it to 865.
866: Reign of Ethelred in Wessex. The Great Army seizes York. Ambrose and Polonius are sent by Dir and Askold as official envoys to Constantinople. They return north to find word from Kuralla waiting for them. The friends rush north, free Kuralla, turn around, and travel again to Constantinople.
After attempts by Basil to involve them in a plot against the emperor, Ambrose, Kuralla, Polonius and Phillip sail for Wessex. Basil, aware they know altogether too much, sends agents after them.
(SOUTHERN JOURNEY)
Basil is told by the Byzantine emperor, Michael III, to divorce his wife so he may marry Michael's mistress.
Bardas plans a sea campaign to retake Crete. Michael has Basil kill Bardas.
Michael adopts Basil and makes him junior emperor.
Ambrose and his friends are captured and enslaved by Moslem pirates operating out of Crete. Polonius' skills allow them to break out, and they escape to the dubious safety of a Byzantine Fleet. When they realize one of Basil's agents recognizes them and intends to kill them, they flee to Egypt, where they join a caravan heading west.
The Byzantine admiral harries them across North Africa, but Ambrose and his friends do manage to damage the Byzantine ships. Ambrose then finds a Moslem slaver to transport them to Calabria. Attacked and hunted, the friends finally cross the border from Calabria to Benevento. Ambrose feels that they are finally back in friendly territory.
(JOURNEY HOME)
The friends start north. Ambrose and his friends visit Admiral Demetrious in Naples. They escape and make it back across the frontier just ahead of vengeful Byzantine soldiers.
Ambrose makes it to Rome, where he meets Pope Nicholas. He and his friends then head north for the mountain pass to France. They arrive after the pass is closed for the winter, and must spend the winter in Aosta.
867: Aelle, king of Northumbria is killed trying to retake York.
Basil 'the Macedonian' kills his own sponsor, Michael III, emperor of Byzantium. (September)
They survive an attack by assassins, and in the spring they head north into the mountains where they are captured and enslaved. After Kuralla rescues them, they reach France and relative safety. They reach Paris and meet the king. Then they head for Calais and a ship to England. The Vikings however, are raiding the coast. Finally, after many adventures, they r
each the city and Phillip finds a captain willing to risk the dangerous journey.
(WARRIOR OF THE KING)
867: Finally, Ambrose and his friends arrive in England, where Ambrose is welcomed back to the court. Ambrose meets a beautiful girl and falls in love.
868: The Great Army occupies Mercia. King Ethelred and his brother, Alfred, ride north to support Burgred of Mercia. The Vikings are besieged at Nottingham, but Burgred decides to pay Danegeld. The West Saxons go home.
Alfred marries a Mercian noblewoman – Ealhswith.
Ambrose and his companions return north and join the Great Army as spies. After finding out the Vikings are going north, they flee. Ambrose is wounded and nursed by his loved one. The Great Army pursues, and catches up. Strangely, the attack is called off.
Ahmad ibn Tulun, a Turk, is appointed by the Caliph to rule Egypt.
Pope Nicholas the Great dies.
(GRETCHEN; FUTURE PRINCESS)
Gretchen and her father head south for Wessex and her marriage. She is kidnapped and taken to Wales.
In Wales, Vikings attack the group, and Gretchen is taken to the Viking strong point of Wexford in Ireland. Ambrose visits Wexford, but is unable to free Gretchen.
869: The Great Army returned to York in the north for a year.
Ambrose attacks the Viking ship carrying his beloved Gretchen northward. They are finally re-united.
870: Danes kill King Edmund of East Anglia, and then invade Wessex under the Danish leader Halfdan.
871: Alfred becomes king. After fighting nine battles, Alfred pays Danegeld to buy peace for five years.
873: Ivar the Boneless, 'king of Dublin and York', dies in Ireland. His brother, Halfdan Ragnarsson, becomes king in his place
(ALFRED THE GREAT: VIKING INVASION)
875: Alfred takes out a small fleet and routs seven Viking ships. (Nb. For dramatic purposes, I arbitrarily moved this event to the following year, where I tied it in with Guthrum's invasion.)
876: Danes under Guthrum break their word, slip past Alfred and seize Wareham.
877: Guthrum agrees to a truce, but slips away to Exeter, which they fortify.
After a Danish fleet is dashed on the rocks in a storm, the Danes agree to withdraw.