tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post144770742703818217..comments2023-10-12T02:21:40.102-07:00Comments on English Historical Fiction Authors: The Alternate Histories of the Norman Conquest, Part 2Debra Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-39022010264054321462013-01-23T08:59:58.315-08:002013-01-23T08:59:58.315-08:00Now, wouldn't it be fun if the whole conquest ...Now, wouldn't it be fun if the whole conquest of England happened because Harold couldn't keep his trousers on. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-42340700615284464522013-01-23T08:54:19.219-08:002013-01-23T08:54:19.219-08:00My knowledge of weather in the channel is also poo...My knowledge of weather in the channel is also poor, but I do know that the prevailing winds are from the SW. Obviously, the ships of that time were not great at sailing and tended to go were the wind blew, or if the wind was infavourable, they rowed.<br />I have storm in my novel but it's William's invasion fleet that gets wrecked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-82562133632495201592013-01-23T08:32:53.003-08:002013-01-23T08:32:53.003-08:00Yes, the medieval chroniclers were definitely inte...Yes, the medieval chroniclers were definitely interested in telling a good story. Have you read King Harald's Saga (about Harald Hardrada) by Snorri Sturluson? It was written about 170 years after the conquest, and that thing is a dramatic goldmine. It has a good story about how Harold and Duke William's wife Matilda used to sit up all night talking (while Harold was on his trip to Normandy), and Duke William was getting suspicious about what was going on between them. So they decided to tell him that what they had been talking about was a marriage alliance between Harold and William's daughter.Rosanne E. Lortzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11048843976794056529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-20928546022423896472013-01-23T08:30:21.580-08:002013-01-23T08:30:21.580-08:00Yes, I think HF authors often like to choose the r...Yes, I think HF authors often like to choose the route most laden with conspiracy--makes for a better plot. <br /><br />Interesting comments about the storm. My own knowledge of weather in the English Channel is completely nonexistent, so it's helpful to hear from someone who knows more about that.<br /><br />And yes, Wikipedia does have a tendency to steer one down a certain path.... :-)Rosanne E. Lortzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11048843976794056529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-35102875140558599912013-01-23T01:23:26.984-08:002013-01-23T01:23:26.984-08:00This is fascinating, and not only (from my point o...This is fascinating, and not only (from my point of view) because Wace will appear as a character in a novel I am writing. I especially like your conclusion. Part of the attraction of such characters (I think equally of Cassius Dio here) is that I can sense them looking at the past very much in the way that I as a novelist look at it. Perhaps they are trying to get at the truth, perhaps they are trying to please their patrons, but above all they are concerned to tell a great story. They made free with the stories they inherited (Wace's Roman de Brut even more so than the Roman de Rou), so I feel equally free to use theirs.Mark Pattonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06621801968983662236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-48983669475895919022013-01-22T13:56:42.960-08:002013-01-22T13:56:42.960-08:00It occurs to me that there are similarities betwee...It occurs to me that there are similarities between modern day conspiracy theorists and historical fiction writers.<br /><br />The storm does seem peculiar since my relatively primitive knowledge of weather tells me that for a storm to drive a boat from Bosham (nr Chichester) England to Ponthieu (Picardy) the wind would have to be at least WNW. <br />Here's the wiki version "Norman conquest of England<br /> <br />Harold Godwinson of England was shipwrecked at Ponthieu, in 1064 and taken captive by Guy I (or Wido according to the Bayeux Tapestry), the then Count of Ponthieu.[3] It is alleged that William (Duke of Normandy, later William I of England), discovering that Harold had been taken captive, sent messengers ordering Count Guy to hand over his prisoner.[3] William then forced Harold to swear to support his claim to the throne, only revealing after the event that the box on which Harold had made his oath contained holy relics, making the promise especially binding", which clearly demonstrates that I really ought not to use wiki quite so much!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-34083209728558201792013-01-22T11:30:38.105-08:002013-01-22T11:30:38.105-08:00Thanks, Paula! I enjoyed reading your blog series ...Thanks, Paula! I enjoyed reading your blog series on the Bayeux Tapestry. As you say, the best thing to do is to interpret the evidence in whatever way seems believable--which is what makes me so interested in the William of Malmesbury source, because he's trying to do just that. He's trying to reconcile the English denial of the visit with the Norman assertion of it in a way that seems plausible, and though he might have it wrong, I think his attempt is quite credible. :-)Rosanne E. Lortzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11048843976794056529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2456802468539868519.post-91571971130455343562013-01-22T11:22:27.172-08:002013-01-22T11:22:27.172-08:00Thanks for your 2 part blog post on this topic Ros...Thanks for your 2 part blog post on this topic Roseanne. I really enjoyed reading all the sources and the differing evidence. As with all history, until they invent the time machine, we will never know the truth of it. All we can do is interpret the evidence in whatever way seems believable. I know what I think, but it is my own fancy that Harold went there with an express purpose, the Bayeux introduction seems to indicate that there was an exchange of something between Edward and Harold relating to the consequent events, therefore I think it highly unlikely he went fishing and got caught in the Norman duke's net. Get caught it seems he indeed did, but not in the way Malmesbury relates. <br />Once again, superb post. Paula Loftinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17138899684247746388noreply@blogger.com