Wulf the Saxon by G. A. Henty

Wulf the Saxon
A Story of Norman Conquest
Written by G. A. Henty
$6.99 Paperback

I've mentioned shopping at the Half-Priced Books in Skokie Il before and perusing their dollar rack. This book is another captured from that shelf.

It's not going to win any modern awards, but it is a book over one hundred years old! I didn't realize that when I first picked it up. My cover is so out of date that I couldn't find the right image to put up on my blog so I had to scan it. I've also never read anything by G. A. Henty and was surprised that he had written so many books that I might be interested in as their historical eras are ones that have long fascinated me.

It's the story of 1066 and the battle of Hastings as told through the eyes of Wulf the Saxon.

There are a few bits readers should draw out for their own games:

1. Water is powerful: There are two separate occasions Wulf has trials and tribulations due to the waves he rides upon. One time casting him and his liege at the prisoners of William the Conqueror, the other dashing the boats of the English navy to pieces. This is a common trope in many stories though. If you've seen Frank Miller's 300, there is a scene where the Persian Fleet is destroyed.

Don't be afraid to showcase how wild, powerful, unpredictable and uncontrollable elements are outside of the characters and even their patrons.

2. Death is not to be feared: When the former king of England is ready to die, he's speaking of rejoicing. If the belief in the afterlife is firm, death should not be a trial. It should not be a tribulation. It should be a time of earnest celebration.

3. A celebration of Victories: If the party is in town and the GM needs to give the town some local color, have the players come upon the village while it is in the midsts of celebrating a victory over some regional foe. Orcs, bandits, ogres, trolls, and even hill giants all may be threats to such townships but having claimed a victory over a great force, say perhaps at a ford or river or pass, the town celebrates that victory every year to remind themselves of the cost and the valor of those who died to achieve that victory.

4. Names. There are many ways to go about naming a character. For example, we have William. He's sometimes referred to as William of London or even as Bishop William of London. The main character, Wulf, is known as Wulf of Steyning and eventually takes the last name of the family he's adopted into.

5. Hostages: George R. R. Martin's fantasy series, A Game of Thrones, has 'Reek' who was raised by the Starks only to betray them. Being raised by an enemy is a common feature of history. Your children go as hostages to another lord and are raised under that lord's banner and learn that lord's ways and methods. It can lead to high drama if years down the road those loyalties are tested.

A name can come from a variety of places. Adding the 'of XXX" is a frequent use. We have such individuals of Edwin of Mercia in this book. In fantasy, we have Elric of Melnibone for example. Instead of 'of XXX,' sometimes it's a descriptor, Conan the Cimmerian.

Names can also be of a profession or of a rank. Many nobles may go by Lord or Lady, for example, Lady Agnes. In religious factions, the rankings of the Church should be in full play. Is there a difference between a Bishop and a Cardinal? If you have four or five characters call Harold, you need a way to distinguish them.

They can be descriptive. Elric is also known as the White Wolf as is the most popular of Witchers. In this book, we have Edith of the Swan Neck.

Names can denote heritage such as Harkon the Son of Sweyn.

Names can also be of the House. For example, the House of Leofric. The House of Jor-El.

A character's name can say a lot about him without the character ever saying anything. Use it wisely.

V is For Viking

I've long collected the various series by Osprey Military that include the Warriors Series and the Men-At-Arm series. With the +HISTORY channel just finishing airing Vikings Season Three,  I decided to delve into my Warrior Series Volume 3, Viking Hersir 793-1066 AD: Weapons>Armor.Tactics. Note the cover below is not the current cover, but is is the one I have.

Vikings are a popular. Part of this is the warrior heritage. They are individual who 'do' things. It's easier to involve characters into stories when they are active in that story.

They are also not restricted to their own time. Marvel Comics for some odd forty years has been getting good mileage out of reimagining the adventures of Thor, one of the gods of the Vikings. This has included numerous versions of Thor in both the past and far future, as well as individuals with the power of Thor, thanks to an enchantment placed on Thor's hammer.

Even DC, which has mainly stayed with the Olympian Pantheon via Wonder Woman, has gotten mileage out of names such as Wotan, a mystical super villain who battled Dr. Fate.

In terms of writing, there are numerous tales of the Vikings which come to us, often hundreds of years after the events take place such as the saga of Vinland that I recently blogged about.

But for more modern audiences, writers like Bernard Cornwell are getting their milage out of the era. Bernard currently has eight books in his Saxon Tales, the latest being the Empty Throne, a first person narration and while I'm behind one book in the series, it's another look at the vikings that I've enjoyed.

The viking presence is also felt in role playing games. While I don't have the specific issue of Dragon Magazine in front of me, Dungeons and Dragons has taken it's own look at some of the berserkers from Viking lore.

Later on, during the 2nd edition era of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, TSR started doing 'historical' books. The first one they did was HR 1 Vikings Campaign Sourcebook. This was a green faux leather cover book and while no longer available in print, DriveThruRPG is selling it in PDF format for $9.99.

This doesn't count other companies like I.C.E. who had their own historical line that brought different eras to Rolemaster. Their own book Vikings was another look at how to implement the mundane and fantastic mythological elements into MERP and Rolemaster. Makes perfect sense since at the time, I.C.E. was also doing Middle Earth Roleplaying, the aftermentioned MERP, and there are quite a few nods to the Norsemen in Middle Earth.

In short, Vikings were, and still are, a popular subject, especially to write about.

Part of this is their mythology. They have a full cycle. They know what is supposed to happen at the end of the world. They know that if they fight and die, they will go to join the king of the gods Odin.

Part of it is the unique elements they possess. For example, naming weapons and armor. Good weapons and armor will go down in history. Those who do legendary deeds, will do the same.

One thing that Viking Hersir pointed out that I did not know before, was that with the fragility of weapons versus time, especially over an era covering almost three hundred years, that if a sword broke, but it was a good quality sword, it would be reforged into a spearhead. The good metal too important to let sit rusting somewhere.

Other bits that Viking Hersir point out, that perhaps should be obvious, are that that scabbards do not survive. They often becomes melded through time into the weapons themselves. In fantasy campaigns, having a shealth that survived the tides of time would be a sure indicator that there was something not normal about sword and scabbard.

I admit one of the reasons I like the Warrior Series by Osprey, is the art. This volume is no exception. Gerry Embleton. He's a fantastic artist whose work can be found here. Gerry brings us twelve different full color plates.

As someone who also paints miniatures, one of the things I enjoyed was a full page of shields. While there are several 'normal' shields, there are also several patterned shields. While some cultures may have very elaborate and impossible to design by hand shields in 28mm, that's not true of the Vikings who often had one to three bright colors and simple designs.

Outside of Gerry's art, there are numerous photographs of actual items from the era ranging from swords and axe heads to helmets and scans of ancient art that has survived into the modern era. Makes for a great immersion even though the book is relatively short.

If you're a fan of the Vikings show and want to dip your toe into something that's going to provide a little more information and is written easily enough to follow with a ton of material referenced at the end, Viking Hersir is perfect.