Oswiu, King of Kings Read online

  Praise for The Northumbrian Thrones:

  “Brilliant: hugely enjoyable, a galloping plot with characters you care about – exactly the sort of thing I love to read. A joy from start to finish.”

  Conn Iggulden, author of The War of the Roses series

  “A crowning achievement: meticulously researched, a long-overdue insight into our Anglo-Saxon past.”

  Justin Hill, author of Shieldwall

  “Edoardo Albert conjures up an extraordinarily vivid and authentic picture of life in seventh-century Britain that is hugely enjoyable. This is fabulous storytelling, with the themes of greed, ambition, nobility, and the power of religion woven together with consummate skill. It is the real Game of Thrones – a fabulous story, beautifully told, that turns out to be based on fact!”

  Andrew Norriss, author of Aquila and creator of The Brittas Empire

  “In Oswiu, the concluding installment in his Northumbrian Thrones trilogy, Edoardo Albert takes readers back to seventh-century England: a shadowy and turbulent era when Britons and Anglo-Saxons, heathens and Christians, contested for political and spiritual supremacy.

  Albert writes with great passion; his love for this period of history shines through at every stage. His research is worn lightly, and yet his depiction of early medieval life has a strong ring of truth.

  Dynastic rivalries, shifting allegiances, and pagan mysticism combine in this atmospheric novel, evoking a volatile world in which life is uncertain, authority and respect are hard-won, honour is all-important, and divine forces hold sway.”

  James Aitcheson, author of The Sworn Sword

  “Edoardo Albert tells an epic tale of kings and queens, omens and shieldwalls, where the future of a people was decided as much through the guile of its priests as the strength of its warlords. Albert deftly weaves the threads of a memorable cast of characters into the weft and warp of a vibrant tapestry of war, mystery, and intrigue. Yet the true strength of Oswiu is in the depiction of the effects of conflict on the men and women of the Dark Ages, as Albert reminds us there is much more to conquest than the ringing clash of swords.”

  Matthew Harffy, author of The Serpent Sword

  “The bare bones of Oswiu’s story was told by Bede in book III of his Ecclesiastical History; Albert puts flesh on the bones, bringing these characters to life in an historical novel which fairly fizzes with humanity, all amid the struggle between Christian and pagan, Northumbria and Mercia, for the soul of Britain.”

  Nick Higham, Emeritus professor, History, University of Manchester

  “‘Full of incident and adventure, this third book in Edoardo Albert’s masterly Northumbrian Thrones trilogy highlights the edgy family dynamics of rival dynasties in the turbulent seventh-century world of gold and glory. Albert’s writing sweeps us along through nervous raiding parties, sweaty rides over parched hills peopled by wraiths, the muscle-straining tension of the warriors’ shieldwall, and the comfort of the smoky mead hall with fire sprites dancing in the logs. A satisfying climax to the trilogy.”

  Jill Dalladay, author of The Abbess of Whitby

  “Brings to life the heroic age of our distant past, a splendid novel that leaves the reader wanting more.”

  Bernard Cornwell

  Text copyright © 2016 Edoardo Albert

  This edition copyright © 2016 Lion Hudson

  The right of Edoardo Albert to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Lion Fiction

  an imprint of

  Lion Hudson plc

  Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road

  Oxford OX2 8DR, England

  www.lionhudson.com/fiction

  ISBN 978 1 78264 118 6

  e-ISBN 978 1 78264 119 3

  First edition 2016

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Cover illustration © Beehive Illustration, Eric Smith

  To David and Margaret,

  for your support and your daughter.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Praise

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Dramatis Personae

  Glossary

  Map of the Kingdoms of Britain, c. 635

  Pronunciation Guide

  Of the Events in Edwin: High King of Britain and Oswald: Return of the King

  Oswiu: King of Kings

  Part I: Raid

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Part II: Family

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Part III: Strife

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Part IV: Reckoning

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Historical Note

  Acknowledgments

  Acknowledgments usually begin with the declaration that no book is written alone – and that is certainly true. However, I’m going to begin my acknowledgments with a different recognition: that no book is written for the writer alone, but for his readers. So I’d like to start by thanking you. Thank you for reading this book and (since it’s the third in a trilogy) presumably two more of my books. Writers are just people making squiggles on paper without people to read what they’ve written, so I am immensely grateful to you all. I’d also like to give my particular thanks to everyone who has taken the time to write reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and social media, and all those who have recommended my books to friends and family; for a little-known writer with no literary cachet, these personal testimonials are more valuable than garnets and gold. Given the solitary nature of writing, I’ve also really appreciated the contact with readers who have taken the time to contact me through my website, or via Facebook and Twitter: your encouragement, criticism, and praise has been extremely valuable. In particular, my thanks go to Jared Detter (for your fascinating emails), Christina Fox (an Englishwoman abroad), Alison Skinner (hope there’s not too much you disagree with here!), Holly Hocks and Val the Poet (Twitter encouragers), Tony O’Sullivan (northern correspondent), Anna Lacey (the medieval girl) and, last but certainly not least, Paul Langley (the epitome of the intelligent reader).

  Something else that helps to alleviate the loneliness of the long-book writer is the companionship of fellow write
rs – mostly virtual, these days – scribbling in the same period and others that come afterwards (or, sometimes, before). I’m fortunate in the generosity and encouragement of my fellow authors, in particular Matthew Harffy, Justin Hill, James Aitcheson, Jill Dalladay, Teresa Tomlinson, LA Smith, and Henry Vyner-Brooks (when you’ve finished this book, take a look at their work). I would like to give my particular thanks to Justin Hill for reading all three of my novels (no, he’s not a masochist) and Matthew Harffy for his generosity to an apparent competitor. That so many of them should read my work is wonderful; that they should enjoy it is even better.

  Moving from the Early Medieval, I’m honoured to have had Conn Iggulden read Oswiu and even more pleased to learn that, when he mislaid the book, he spent a frantic day searching for it so that he could find out what happened next: I am forever grateful. Andrew Norriss writes for and of children with the discipline of a Waugh and the wit of a Wodehouse; his Aquila may be the most perfectly structured book I’ve ever read. Andrew and his wife Jane are simply the loveliest of people.

  It was the people at Lion who first gave me a chance to write stories people would actually read: I hope I have repaid your trust. In particular, my thanks go to Tony Collins (now enjoying a very well-earned retirement) and Alison Hull, who together opened doors to me, and then a huge thank you to Jessica Tinker, as kind, generous, and smiley an editor as any writer could wish to work with. There seems to be a bit of a thing for names beginning with ‘J’ at Lion, so my thanks also to Jessica Scott for all her hard work chasing down rights and permissions (it’s no easy task quoting actual Anglo-Saxon poems in a book about the Anglo-Saxons), and to Rachel Ashley-Pain who had the “painful” (sorry!) task of copyediting all 500 plus pages of this book (I didn’t mean it to be this long, honest). A big thank you as well to all the sales team at Lion, and in particular Rhoda Hardie, for working so hard to overcome the reluctance of bookshops to stock books from publishers that aren’t small parts of global corporations.

  Professor Nick Higham of Manchester University (not to be confused with the other Professor Nick Higham, also of Manchester University) has forgotten more about Northumbria than I will ever know. I warmly recommend all his books on the subject – The Anglo-Saxon World, which he co-wrote with Martin Ryan, is probably the best introduction to the subject around – but I would like to make special mention of his latest work, Ecgfrith: King of the Northumbrians, which has almost made me think of writing volume four of The Northumbrian Thrones. That so eminent a scholar as Professor Higham should read my books (and like them, wonder of wonders!) is more than I could have hoped for.

  Dr Alex Woolf complements Professor Higham, specializing in matters north of a border that had not yet been firmed up when the events of Oswiu were taking place. His book, From Pictland to Alba, sheds welcome light on the darkest period in Scottish history, when the Picts, and their language, mysteriously disappear, to be replaced by the Gaels. His learning is prodigious, as evidenced by the fact that no less than five languages (Gaelic, British, Pictish, English, and Norse) were spoken in Scotland at this time. I am hugely grateful to Dr Woolf for taking the time to transliterate some of the harder-to-pronounce names in the book into modern English – as much for my sake as for the reader!

  For something over thirty years I was a writer whom no one wanted to read (for the very good reason that most of my writing was rubbish). Indeed, my publication rate averaged out at one short story a decade (1980s, 90s, 00s) – not much to base a career upon. It’s only in the last decade that things changed and that they did – and that I did not give up – is entirely due to the patience, encouragement, support, and help of my family. First, my parents, Victor and Paola Albert, immigrants from Sri Lanka and Italy respectively, who met and married here and encouraged me in every way possible while growing up, despite us having very little money (but so well did they look after us that I never noticed). And my mother has acted as an unpaid agent for my books, making sure bookshops and libraries throughout London stock them.

  Speaking of parents, the relationship with in-laws is supposed to be fraught. Well, it isn’t in my case. David and Margaret Whitbread have been unfailingly helpful and supportive, despite Margaret having had to cook more roast dinners for us than she ever anticipated (will we ever turn down a dinner invitation? No, we won’t).

  My brother, Steven, put up with me when we were young and helped me get as far as adulthood when it all looked a bit dodgy for a while. I was just about getting to the point of putting a lonely-hearts ad in Time Out (my first draft reduced a friend to such helpless laughter that he was, quite literally, rolling on the floor – I think it was the bit about tickling the belly of a wolf that finally did it for him) when I met the woman who would, in surprisingly short order, become my wife. Harry (her name is Harriet really, but she thinks the three syllables makes it sound as if I’m about to scold her), none of this would have been possible without you. And the boys. There’s nothing more calculated to improve the productivity of a writer than to reduce his available writing time. So thank you, Theo, Matthew, and Isaac. All four of you – the time-taking team – make me write so much better than if I was shut up in a garret with a sheet of paper and no other demands on my time.

  So, thank you. And, yes, I will relay the patio. Honestly.

  Dramatis Personae

  Names in italics are invented characters

  House of Ida (the Idings), kingdom of Bernicia

  Oswiu King of Bernicia and would-be king of Deira. Younger brother of Oswald, who ruled Northumbria before Oswiu; son of Æthelfrith and Acha.

  Rhieienmelth Daughter of King Rhoedd of Rheged. First wife to Oswiu.

  Ahlflæd Daughter of Oswiu and Rhieienmelth.

  Ahlfrith Son of Oswiu and Rhieienmelth.

  Eanflæd Daughter of Edwin and Æthelburh. Second wife to Oswiu.

  Ecgfrith Son of Oswiu and Eanflæd.

  Æbbe Sister to Oswald and Oswiu. Abbess of Coldingham.

  Acha Mother to Oswald, Oswiu and Æbbe. Sister to Edwin, of the royal house of Yffi of Deira; married Æthelfrith, Oswald’s father.

  Æthelwin Warmaster to Oswiu.

  Bran Oswald’s raven.

  Œthelwald Son of Oswald. After the death of his parents, brought up by Oswiu and Rhieienmelth.

  Coifi Pagan priest to Edwin. In these stories, Coifi pledges himself to the Idings after Edwin’s death.

  Acca Scop to Edwin. After Edwin’s death scop to Oswald and then Oswiu.

  Romanus Priest to Eanflæd.

  Garmund Brigand.

  Characters in the previous books, but who are dead at the start of Oswiu: King of Kings

  Oswald Lamnguin (the Whiteblade) High King of Britain and king of Northumbria, the combined kingdom of Bernicia and Deira, until his death at the hands of Penda of Mercia. Son of Æthelfrith and Acha. Story told in Oswald: Return of the King.

  Eanfrith Half-brother to Oswald and Oswiu. Killed by Cadwallon of Gwynedd. His story is told in Oswald: Return of the King.

  Æthelfrith Father to Oswald, Oswiu and Æbbe through Acha, princess of Deira, and to Eanfrith through Bebba. Became king of Bernicia in 592 and king of the joint kingdom of Bernicia and Deira, Northumbria, in 604. Killed in 616 at the Battle of the River Idle by the combined forces of Rædwald, king of the East Angles, and Edwin, exiled king of Deira.

  House of Yffi (the Yffings), kingdom of Deira

  Oswine King of Deira.

  Hunwald Warmaster to Oswine.

  Tondhere Retainer to Oswine.

  Acha Sister to Edwin. See heading under House of Ida.

  Æthelburh Mother of Eanflæd; Edwin’s second wife. Fled with their children to Kent and then France after Edwin’s death.

  James Missionary sent to Edwin. He remained in Deira after Edwin’s death.

  Characters in the previous books, but who are dead at the start of Oswiu: King of Kings

  Edwin King of Northumbria from 616 to 633 when he was killed in battle with Cadwallon of Gwyned
d and Penda of Mercia. His story is told in Edwin: High King of Britain.

  Osric Cousin to Edwin and father of Oswine. Claimed the throne of Deira following Edwin’s death, but was killed by Cadwallon.

  House of Icel (the Iclingas), kingdom of Mercia

  Penda King of Mercia.

  Cynewisse Wife to Penda.

  Peada “the Red Hand” Eldest son of Penda and Cynewisse.

  Wulfhere Son of Penda and Cynewisse.

  Wihtrun Pagan priest to Penda.

  Brandnoth Thegn of High Cross.

  Coenred Innkeeper of High Cross.

  Hutha Sentry

  Characters in the previous books, but who are dead at the start of Oswiu: King of Kings

  Eowa Brother to Penda; killed at the end of Oswald: Return of the King.

  Cearl King of Mercia before Penda.

  House of Cunedda, kingdom of Gwynedd

  Cadwallon King of Gwynedd. Killed in battle against Oswald and Oswiu.

  House of Coel (“Old King Cole’”), kingdom of Rheged

  Rhoedd King of Rheged.

  Rhieienmelth Daughter of King Rhoedd; wife to Oswiu.

  Monks of Lindisfarne

  Aidan Abbot and bishop of Lindisfarne; friend to Oswald and Oswiu.

  Finan Second abbot of Lindisfarne.

  Utta Monk of Lindisfarne.

  Glossary

  Ætheling A prince or highly ranked noble who was throne-worthy; that is, a possible candidate for taking the throne.

  Angles One of the three main peoples that migrated to Britain in the fifth to seventh centuries. The Angles settled in the east and north.

  Bernicia Anglian kingdom centred on Bamburgh. With Deira, one of the two constituent kingdoms of Northumbria.

  Britons Original inhabitants of Britain. Ruling families, and possibly much of the populace, displaced by incoming Anglo-Saxons between fifth and seventh centuries.

  Dal Riada Sea-spanning Gaelic kingdom, linking Ulster and Argyll.

  Deira Anglian kingdom centred on York. With Bernicia, one of the two constituent kingdoms of Northumbria.