Paul, we’re in book 2 of your Rebellion series. Can you update readers on where we are at the beginning of Uprising?
At the end of book 1 (Blood Feud), we left Oslac back home in his village at Acum, following the successful conclusion of two major plot lines. Firstly, he has helped his kinsman, Earl Oswulf of Bamburgh, to defeat the Norman-backed Earl Copsig whom King William had sent north to take control of the lands beyond the River Humber. Secondly, he’d managed to defeat the Dane, Gundulf of Hexham, with whose family his own blood line had been feuding for two centuries.
On the surface, therefore, things seem settled, but then that would not make for an interesting sequel, would it. Readers can rest assured that trouble – in its many different forms – is never far away.
What’s the plot of Uprising?
Uprising picks up largely where Blood Feud left off, though we start to see a shift in emphasis from the feud with Gundulf to the threat posed by Norman rule. So, whilst the situation with Gundulf (supposedly languishing in Earl Oswulf’s dungeon in Bamburgh) acts as the catalyst for the plot, it is events driven from the south that begin to loom largest.
After eighteen months of Norman rule, two things have become painfully clear: firstly, King William is different from his West Saxon predecessors in that he is intent on extending his rule across the whole kingdom (rather than leave matters north of the Humber to sort themselves out). Secondly, with many supporters to reward (coupled with an underlying distrust of all things Saxon), William is using all means at his disposal (fair or (mostly) foul) to grab as much Saxon-owned land as possible. One of the features of the Domesday Book is that you can see a huge change in land ownership between 1066 and 1086 when it was compiled. By then, the vast majority of land is held by Normans.
It is no surprise therefore that many Saxons – especially those in the north where they are used to having virtual independence – are going to take matters into their own hands, in terms of resisting this landgrab.
Oslac is our hero, is he now beholden to William of Normandy?
Absolutely not. That said, it is a matter of historical fact that his liege lord (Earl Gospatric of Bamburgh) did submit to King William at the time of his investiture with the title, but this did not stop him from joining the uprising soon after.
As far as Oslac is concerned, his first loyalty is to his earl, so I imagine if Gospatric had commanded him to fight for William against, say, a Danish invader, then he would have done so. But if you put matters of military service to one side, then what really drives Oslac is the safety and prosperity of Acum and its inhabitants. What he hopes, more than anything, is for the Normans to remain in the south so that things can stay the same as they’ve always been. Book 1 had sown the seed of doubt in his mind, book 2 brings him the firm realisation that the old ways are gone for good.
With the sad events of 1066 and William’s victory at Hastings, did England submit to Norman domination?
No, and I think it’s true to say that William’s hold on power in England was precarious to say the least for the first several years (perhaps also mirrored by events in Normandy too). But, although there were several uprisings after 1066, very few really had the potential to bring William down, for the main reason – in my opinion – that they lacked both cohesion and a credible figurehead. Although the Saxons had lost a considerable chunk of its nobility and fighting capability, it still had the military wherewithal to succeed if it could but find someone behind who they could unite. The events described in Uprising (and in the third book, when it comes) are examples of where the English had a real chance to win.
Edgar Aetheling is an important figure in the novel. Was his claim to the English throne strong?
About as strong as you can get. Every king of England (with the exception of Cnut and his sons) had hailed from the ancient line of the House of Wessex (if we accept Aethelstan as the first King of England). Aethelstan could trace his lineage back to the – possibly mythical – Cerdic who was supposedly the first of the ‘West Saxons’ to establish their rule in the fifth century.
Edgar was the grandson of Edmund Ironside who’d fought a series of battles against Cnut in 1016, only to die before the year end (either from battle injuries or foul play involving a toilet and a spear). Cnut had sent Edmund’s two infant sons (Edward and Edmund) to Sweden to be killed, but they ended up being passed on to Kyiv and thence, Hungary. While there, Edward (known as the Exile), married and had three children, one of whom was Edgar.
He returned to England with his father in 1057 (I believe that Edward the Confessor harboured hopes of the Exile becoming the next king), only for his father to die within two or three weeks of landing. On the Confessor’s death in January 1066, tradition would have dictated that Edgar would have been elected by the Witan. But due to his age (around fourteen) and lack of a solid support base, combined with Harold’s huge wealth and power, and the threat of invasion, he was overlooked in favour of the mighty earl.
It is worth noting, that Edgar was, in fact, elected king by the Witan in the days immediately after Hastings, but his place in the regnal list was sadly overlooked.
What non-fiction books did you find helpful during your research?
There are a few to be honest, including some of the original sources like Orderic Vitalis and William of Poitiers (their different takes on the same events can be fascinating in and of itself, reflecting their respective biases). But the one I always return to is Marc Morris’ The Norman Conquest. Excellently researched and written in a way that is informative, yet accessible and engaging, it really is a must read. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in this era.
Will Oslac fight again?
I think this is akin to asking whether bears undertake their ablutions in forested areas. Book 3 is in the planning stage, and there is a lot of unfinished business to attend to. In addition, those that know their history of this period and region will know that William will lose patience with the North and unleash what some historians have likened to a genocidal programme of annihilation – known as the Harrying of the North.
Readers may know that I like to keep a thin but definite vein of humour running through my books; in these circumstances, that could prove to be a real challenge.
Paul Bernardi is the author of the Rebellion series, published by Sharpe Books.
