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| Welcome to my Blog! Wander through wonderful worlds real and fictional, meet interesting people, visit exciting places and find a few good books to enjoy along the way! |
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| About the Book |
From bestselling author, MJ Porter comes the tale of the mighty pagan king, Penda of Mercia.
Capitals of Bernicia, Bamburgh or Bebbanburg and Ad Gefrin
Bamburgh is traditionally associated with the kingdom of Bernicia – the far northern Saxon kingdom, which was particularly prominent during the seventh century, and which was joined to the kingdom of Deira to form Northumbria on several occasions throughout the seventh century.
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| Bamburgh Castle, the Keep |
Bamburgh, also known as Bebbanburg, is alleged to have been given by King Æthelfrith to his wife, Bebba, which is where the name, Bebbanburg comes from, in about the year 600. Much work is currently being undertaken to discover what was at Bamburgh before the later, better-attested parts of the castle were built. Famously, the old well exists, and archaeologists continue to explore how deep it was, and therefore, how old it truly is and if the water can still be drunk, while also being engaged in a bid to detect just how old the fortress lying beneath the current structures might be.
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| The well |
For those who’ve never visited, it is an imposing location, situated on the top of a steep hill (not much fun to climb on a hot summer’s day) and with golden sands stretching along the foreshore. The Farne Islands can be seen to the right of the castle, and also, Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, where a later castle can also be glimpsed on a good day.
That said, the geography of the area has changed substantially since the Saxon period. The beach was likely not as extensive, and a harbour would have allowed access to the fortress, after a steep climb. It can be quite hard to imagine what it much have looked like then compared to today.
The iconic castle that stands today is a later building, the oldest part, the keep, dating to the very end of the Saxon period, while much of what we see today is the later work of Lord Armstrong (who built Cragside), when he significantly repaired the remains. Indeed, the family still own Bamburgh Castle, although not Cragside, which is a National Trust property. (I’ve written a 1930s mystery set at Cragside).
Bamburgh is slightly unusual in that there are old images of the castle before the 19th-century reconstruction work of Armstrong. I enjoy collecting these antique prints. We often find such buildings falling into ruin, not being ruined and then rebuilt.
And Bamburgh Castle and its environs are stuffed with archaeology, much of it very, very relevant to the seventh century. There were some very famous archaeological investigations undertaken in the 1960s, and there’s now a dedicated team unearthing the treasures hidden beneath the current building, and they have been doing so for over twenty years. You can follow the team's work at Bamburgh Research Project’s Blog, and on occasion, visitors can see the archaeologists at work.
You might also
know about Bamburgh because of the seventh-century bones discovered in the Bole
Hole, and there’s a great book about this, Warrior by Edoardo Albert and Paul
Gething – available from all good booksellers. You can also learn about where
these bones now lie by checking out the Bamburgh
Bones project, and
indeed, you can glimpse these bones if you so wish, although they are now in an
ossuary in the local church of St Aidan’s.
The Saxon settlement of Bamburgh, and indeed, another equally well-known but destroyed settlement at Ad Gefrin, or Yeavering, were both important to the story being told throughout the trilogy that begins with Pagan Warrior. Ad Gefrin is believed to have been a summer residence of the ruling family of Bernicia. Set amongst the rolling hills of the Cheviots, it is a flattish space sandwiched between much higher points all around it. Again, there has been much archaeological work undertaken, and it’s believed that the ruins of a grandstand can be traced, as well as many buildings. Hopefully, one day, more will be discovered.
I’m lucky
in that I live close enough to both of these two places that I could visit them
and gain a very good insight into what it might have been like to live in those
places and then to visualise them for my characters. It also helps that I have
a very good idea of what the weather can be like in Northumbria. 😊
Universal Link: books2read.com/PaganWarrior
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pagan-Warrior-Gods-Kings-Book-ebook/dp/B00U7XGI6U/
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Warrior-Gods-Kings-Book-ebook/dp/B00U7XGI6U/
Amazon CA:
https://www.amazon.ca/Pagan-Warrior-Gods-Kings-Book-ebook/dp/B00U7XGI6U/
Amazon AU:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Pagan-Warrior-Gods-Kings-Book-ebook/dp/B00U7XGI6U/
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pagan-warrior-m-j-porter/1140925428?ean=2940160854236
Waterstones:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781914332166
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/pagan-warrior-1
iBooks:
iTunes:
Audio:
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/x/B0B3ZCM3J5
Bookshop.org:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/pagan-warrior-m-j-porter/7958750?ean=9781914332166
You might also like
books written by Helen Hollick
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
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| 1066 - the events that led to the Battle of Hastings from Amazon Harold the King (UK edition) I Am The Chosen King (US/Canada edition) 1066 Turned Upside Down - an anthology of alternative stories |
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Thanks so much for hosting MJ Porter today, with such a fascinating post. xx
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