Personal blog of freelance writer MGMason
This is the second part in my series and it’s only taken me a year to write it! It look at the impact of the Vikings on England specifically though they did invade and settle in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and northern France. Continue reading “Origins of the English Language: Invaders from the North”
Looking back through my reviews, I realised it had been several years since I read the last Saxon Story by Cornwell so I thought I probably ought to get on with the next one!
Uhtred is in Mercia, he still doesn’t have his castle of Bebbanburg (Bamburgh) after attempting to seize it back from his duplicitous uncle. The fragile peace between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Vikings who live beyond the Danelaw is holding – but only just. South of the border, both Wessex and Mercia prepare for a war that is inevitable yet rumours about that the sickly King Alfred is on his deathbed. Can the fragile alliance and the expected unity of the two crowns go ahead? Continue reading “Book Review: Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell”
This is another book that has come to me through theindieview.com. I accepted willingly due to my interest and study of the early medieval period. It is a historical fantasy blending Viking and Eastern myth, telling the tale of a mysterious treasure located in the titular Black Monastery. However, the monks there have unleashed some ancient evils in the form of demons and ghosts.
OK, I need to get this off of my chest first. Some readers have commended the author for his research and this is good, mostly. Clearly the writer has an interest in the period – at least from the material point of view – however as an archaeologist who spent a couple of years studying the Vikings at undergraduate level, I was left with a few niggles. Continue reading “Book Review: Black Monastery by William Stacey”
I’ve had an idea for some time to write a couple of articles on the origin of English, specifically how it evolved out of Anglo-Saxon languages and how much influence north European pronunciation and words contributed to the language today – Viking to the rest of us. Continue reading “Origins of the English Language: An Introduction”