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The Lords of the Wind
(The Saga of Hasting the Avenger, Book 1)
To a keen observer, evidence of the island of Noirmoutier’s ancient past exists all around. Its castle, one of the oldest in all of Europe, stands as a testament to its importance in the medieval period. Not far from it, Le Bois de la Chaize, a woodland of oak trees growing on the edges of timeworn granite monoliths crumbling into the sea, hides some of the island’s most intriguing secrets. Caves nestled between and under the stone slabs once served as a burial ground for some of the island’s first inhabitants. In no uncertain terms, humans have called the island their home for several millennia. The island’s capital city, Noirmoutier-en-l’Ile, receives most of the attention, but archeologists have found evidence of early human settlements at other locations, such as L’Herbaudière, as well.
In the 1980’s, archeologists made the first discoveries that would re-write the island’s early history. At Le Bois de la Chaize, they found smooth stone tools dating back to the Paleolithic period. More surprisingly, the site contained artifacts dating to two separate periods, indicating humans had re-visited or settled the island more than once over the course of thousands of years. By the time the Romans arrived, the island had developed a distinct character. Bronze Age Celts had settled Noirmoutier and built their trademark Dolmen, stone monoliths erected by the druids, in several areas spread out from L’Herbaudière on the northern tip of the island to the tide pools on the south-eastern shore. Alas, only two of the monoliths have ever been found, and they have since disappeared, submerged by a rising sea. Rome’s conquest of Gaul did not spare Noirmoutier, either. In the 1930’s, the archeologist Edouard Richer discovered a gallo-roman villa at Saint Hilaire, suggesting the Romans had seen value in occupying the island, whether for better control over shipping routes or to extract the island’s most important resource, salt.
The archeological dig that uncovered the Gallo-Roman Villa revealed a more astonishing fact about the site: it had been reused after the withdrawal of the Romans by the Merovingians, and later the Carolingians. Virtually nothing is known about who lived in the villa during the early medieval period except that they ate a diet rich in seafood and animal proteins, as evidenced by the copious amounts of sea shells and domestic animal bones found at the site. What matters most about the discovery is it proves someone lived there throughout the period between the fall of Rome and the arrival of Saint Philibert.
As the monastery found firm footing in its doctrine, it experienced what no one had thought possible. A fleet of ships descended from the far north and pillaged the island. In a 799 letter written to the archbishop of Salzburg, Arno, the monk Alcuin wrote:
“As you may have heard, pagan ships have done much harm to the islands of Aquitaine. Some of them were entirely lost; five men were slaughtered by hundreds of marauders on the beach. A great chastening is upon them unlike any the ancient Christian world has ever seen; perhaps it is because they have not kept their vows to God.”
Few details from the attack in 799 have survived, but the event set into motion decades of turmoil that utterly transformed the holy order. In the wake of the attack, Charlemagne ordered the construction of a new fleet and additional coastal defenses, which may explain his visits to the Aquitaine region in the first decade of the 9th century, as attested by Notker and Astronomer. The chronicler Eginhard, who wrote the Vita Karoli Magni, another biography of Charlemagne, claimed the defenses the emperor built had proven quite successful. The entirety of what he called Gaul, Eginhard wrote, was spared the destruction of the Northmen during Charlemagne’s reign. No sooner than the emperor took his last breath, it would seem, the Viking raids intensified.
The Lords of the Wind
(The Saga of Hasting the Avenger, Book 1)
By C.J. Adrien
Narrated by Gildart Jackson.
Orphaned as a child by a blood-feud, and sold as a slave to an exiled chieftain in Ireland, the boy Hasting had little hope of surviving to adulthood. The gods had other plans. A ship arrived at his master's longphort carrying a man who would alter the course of his destiny, and take him under his wing to teach him the ways of the Vikings. His is a story of a boy who was a slave, who became a war-lord, and who helped topple an empire.
A supposed son of Ragnar Lodbrok, and referred to in the Gesta Normannorum as the Scourge of the Somme and Loire, his life exemplified the qualities of the ideal Viking. Join author and historian C.J. Adrien on an adventure that explores the coming of age of the Viking Hasting, his first love, his first great trials, and his first betrayal.
"The Lords of the Wind" by C.J. Adrien is a gold medal winner in the 2020 Reader's Favorite annual international book award.contest.
(contains violence)
Buy Links:
This series is available on #KindleUnlimited
The Lords of the Wind (Book 1) - https://books2read.com/u/mgE797
In the Shadow of the Beast (Book 2) - https://books2read.com/u/bPQg67
The Kings of the Sea (Book 3) - https://books2read.com/u/b5ol2w
About the Author
C.J. Adrien is a bestselling and award-winning author of Viking historical fiction novels with a passion for Viking history. His Saga of Hasting the Avenger series was inspired by research conducted in preparation for a doctoral program in early medieval history as well as his admiration for historical fiction writers such as Ken Follett and Bernard Cornwell. He is also a published historian on the subject of Vikings, with articles featured in historical journals such as L’Association des Amis de Noirmoutier, in France. His novels and expertise have earned him invitations to speak at several international events, including the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), conferences on Viking history in France, among others.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://cjadrien.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorcjadrien
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjadrien
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/C-J-Adrien/e/B00EWTIVH4
Follow the Tour
Twitter @authorcjadrien @maryanneyarde
Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #Vikings #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub
Tour Schedule:
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