From Pendragon to Prominence

[Olden Weiss]

X. THE LAST ENTRY
Mid March, 902
In the reign of Earl Cgeþ of Lindsey

​

In the year 902, Britain was beginning to settle into a new normal; but it would not be without growing pains. After three decades of raiding and stubborn settlement, Norse presence in the isles was all but erased, save for three stubborn holdouts. In the north of England, the regents of the so-called "Child Jarls" scrapped for unification with what little remained of their respective armies. Both had been greatly depleted by the opportunistic invasions of Alba and Wales just years earlier, and would rely heavily upon the treasure stockpiled by the previous jarls to hire swords for their intentions.

Though the fighting would not be substantial in scale, it would nevertheless be bitter. Moreover, young Sigtryggr faced a different kind of threat from the north in the form of the opportunistic Mormaer of Buchan who sought a different approach to his king before him. He presently waged a war of subjugation, hoping to steal the young jarl's title for himself and vassalize him and his landowning Norse uncles. With his great numbers and the timing of his strike, it would not be long before he actualized this ambition.

It is by this that King Domnall "Ironside" of Alba would ensure his realm's ascendancy in the north. The days when vikings could be at the gates during any given winter were long gone, as Domnall had come to prove himself more than worthy of his father's legacy. In 897, the king's younger brother, Duke Dúndach of the Isles, had waged a subjugation war against the self-made King Dúnchad of Ireland. By 901, he had successfully bent the Irish king's knee and named himself King of Ireland.

In claiming Ireland, Dúndach inherited her troubles with Jarl Sigfroþ of Connacht. The vicious jarl had been tied up with a blood feud between his clan and that of the Ulsterian High Chieftesses, but had become quite comfortable with his Irish home, even going so far as to call himself "Íomharsson", a more local rendering of his Norse patronymic. Unfortunately, this did not preclude any strife between the ambitious jarl and his Irish neighbours.

By way of a prior marriage to his niece, the newly crowned King Dúndach found himself in a strong alliance with his brother. With Alba and Ireland thus joined, it seemed an era of Gaelic ascendancy was in order. Yet Jarl Ivar would not give in so easily, for he found an equal ally in kis cousin, Eirikr One-Eye, the king of Sweden. With Sweden's four thousand warriors added to his own host, Ivar stood a bear's chance of yet claiming the island for himself. His would be the last roar of the British Norse, whether he won or became forgotten like father and his uncles.

While the Welsh might have made an able addition to the Alba-Irish alliance, King Merfyn found his own problems in the south. Though having consolidated most of England under his control - and indeed naming himself King of both Wales and the Angles - Merfyn's eldest son, a vassal of the Franks, found himself beset by rivals for control of the Kingdom of Burgundy.

One of these contended from without against Emperor Karel himself, yet another from within directly threatened Prince Rhodri. Duke Sigebert of Luxembourg, opportunistic regent to King Savary of Lotharingia, sought to claim the title for his nine year-old liege. As it was a dispute between vassals, the emperor did not intervene one way or the other. This led to a great conflict between Rhodri and his allies, and those of Lotharingia. One of these allies would be Rhodri's father, King Merfyn.

The fighting would mostly take place on the European continent, where Lotharingia had nearly twice the numbers of Rhodri's alliance. This would especially prove problematic for King Merfyn, for he found himself bankrupt and lacking the coin even to cross the sea effectively. With Emperor Karel fending off multiple threats and Rhodri otherwise disposed, Earl Cgeþ of Lindsey seized this opportunity to press a long-standing claim he held upon the county of Derby, hoping to chase all semblance of Frankish influence from his borders...

- Generals and Kings: "The Four Realms Period" (2020)​

---

The walls of the Franks are formidable indeed. We are missing our onagers just now. Having spent nearly two seasons trying to gain foothold in Francia, the liege has recalled us to Lincoln hold to regroup. It is good, for Petre has come home to learn of the birth of his daughter, whom his wife has named Eanswyth. All we knights celebrate with him. It is good also to see both Lady Ealdgyth and Lord Leodweard in good spirits. However, as we have sat at rest in Rhodri's occupied county, time has not stilled. We learn today that Swegn has died at the old age of sixty-eight. He is succeeded by Eormenric, whom I have never met. A member of Swegn's lot in Whitby, no doubt.

Swegn was a knight for some time. I fought beside him and know him to have been a man of decent character, if short of temper, and worked tirelessly for the gospel of grace in a world in which we are utterly encompassed by Catholic guilt. I am sorry to see him go. Yet his health was failing him in the last years, so it is in a sense good that he might now find rest.

---

This is a short update, for it is the last letter the author wrote before his sudden death while sleeping in the war camp at Derby. From here I believe I'll have a bit of a hiatus, and hopefully return to continue telling this story after I've gotten some other wants out of my system. Thanks to everyone who's read so far! Hopefully it won't be long before I'm at it again, but I can never be sure where life leads.

 

[Olden Weiss]

Ælfraed was an Anglo-Saxon knight serving Ubbe Ragnarsson. After being captured by Earl Cgeþ, he remained imprisoned for three years until Cgeþ became desperate for knights, at which point he was released on the condition that he serve. Later he became Cgeþ's caravan master.

He is known to have been clubfooted, which may have hindered him in his work. However he was also a very learned man, and his condition did not keep him from journaling about his time in Cgeþ's service. He was married to Tiburge, a Frankish woman who had married Cgeþ's knight Hrólfr on a whim while the court was returning from a poetry competition in Montargis. After Hrólfr's death, she was entrusted to Ælfraed. By her he had one child, a son named Cenwulf.

His telling of events is found in the Account of a Captive Knight, a scholarly name given to the bound collection of journals the knight kept from the time just after his captivity all the way up to his death in 905. Throughout, Ælfraed is revealed to have been a man slow to trust, often expressing doubts and concerns over new members of his earl's court. In particular he developed quite a hatred towards the Norse knight Halfdán, for whom he frequently expressed contempt in his writings. Nevertheless, he also seems self-deprecating at times and seemed to rarely speak out against the earl's decisions to his face.

Late in his life, Ælfraed heeped much praise upon his son and expressed seemingly genuine concern for the fate of Lindsey after he and his fellow knights had passed. In an intriguing inverse of the account of the Heófung Lindesse, his work began with venom for Earl Cgeþ (here truncated for the sake of a cohesive timeline), then slowly grew respectful and even perhaps concerned. His friendship with Countess Ealdgyth and her son, the future Earl Leodweard, gave him many insights into the plans and workings of Cgeþ's court, lending a great deal of depth to his account that was not seen in the brief record presented by his forerunner.

(A/N: Would you believe he ended his life at 19 Prowess?)​

 

[Midnite Duke]

Fare well Ælfræd! You were a wonderful chronicler of Earl CgeÞ. (Any clue on how to pronounce the two men?) Thank you and I hope to see you soon.

 

[Olden Weiss]

Fare well Ælfræd! You were a wonderful chronicler of Earl CgeÞ. (Any clue on how to pronounce the two men?) Thank you and I hope to see you soon.

I believe the first would be "Elfred" or the like, and the second "Jeyth" or "Jeyd" or something...?

 

[HistoryDude]

And... my alerts failed me. Sigh.

Anyway, Ivar's death befits his life, but I still didn't see it coming. His sons seem to be preoccupied with one another. That's good for Lindsey.

The Earl is not a faithful kind of person here, is he? Let's hope that doesn't cause problems.

What's up in Wessex? Will they collapse? Will that aid a Welsh reclamation of their land? Or a Norse invasion? Never mind. I saw the map. How did that situation come about? And Hwicce is Wessex's remnants, right?

A warrior wife might prove interesting if this AAR continues past our current earl's death...

Shame about our narrator's death here. He was an interesting character.

 

[Basileus2]

Hi,

I've only started reading this story in the last few days but was highly impressed with the quality thus far! Great job! As the winner of the weekly award on this forum called WritAAR of the Week, which I was nominated for last week, I have the responsibility of choosing my successor and I choose you!

Congratulations! Hope to see you picking this one back up soon!

Basileus2

 

[Gawquon3]

What a great AAR!

 

[Olden Weiss]

Hi,

I've only started reading this story in the last few days but was highly impressed with the quality thus far! Great job! As the winner of the weekly award on this forum called WritAAR of the Week, which I was nominated for last week, I have the responsibility of choosing my successor and I choose you!

Congratulations! Hope to see you picking this one back up soon!

Basileus2

Many thanks! I regret that I wasn't able to pick this one back up, but now that I have time and energy, it's just too far past this point on updates to go back.

But... I make this necropost to inform everyone who enjoyed it that I have something new in the works, and it's very different indeed. It won't appear here for quite some time due to the nature of its format, but I'm hoping you won't be disappointed once it's finally here. (Mostly posting to give myself impetus to actually stick to it and make sure it goes up!)

 

[Chac1]

Many thanks! I regret that I wasn't able to pick this one back up, but now that I have time and energy, it's just too far past this point on updates to go back.

But... I make this necropost to inform everyone who enjoyed it that I have something new in the works, and it's very different indeed. It won't appear here for quite some time due to the nature of its format, but I'm hoping you won't be disappointed once it's finally here. (Mostly posting to give myself impetus to actually stick to it and make sure it goes up!)

Thanks for bumping this up with your comment otherwise it would have been much harder to find. As I only came to the forums about the time this stopped posting, I am not surprised I was unaware it existed. Impressed with the start of this AAR and the concept. Looking forward to finishing the reading soon.

Certainly interested in your next project too.

 

[vandevere]

Many thanks! I regret that I wasn't able to pick this one back up, but now that I have time and energy, it's just too far past this point on updates to go back.

But... I make this necropost to inform everyone who enjoyed it that I have something new in the works, and it's very different indeed. It won't appear here for quite some time due to the nature of its format, but I'm hoping you won't be disappointed once it's finally here. (Mostly posting to give myself impetus to actually stick to it and make sure it goes up!)

Just put up a Link here when it's ready, please?

 

[Chac1]

Many thanks! I regret that I wasn't able to pick this one back up, but now that I have time and energy, it's just too far past this point on updates to go back.

But... I make this necropost to inform everyone who enjoyed it that I have something new in the works, and it's very different indeed. It won't appear here for quite some time due to the nature of its format, but I'm hoping you won't be disappointed once it's finally here. (Mostly posting to give myself impetus to actually stick to it and make sure it goes up!)

Sorry to see this one end with the death of the narrator. Would've been nice to get more of the story of Earl Cgeþ of Lindsey to see how the rest of his rule finishes, but understand how hard it might be to start up a new narrator after such a gap.

Looking forward to your next project.

 

[Koweth]

After binge-reading this story, I must say, I absolutely adore it. It is a shame to see it end, but I am also excited to see any future works you intend to create! Bravo, Olden Weiss! And congratulations on being WritAAR of the Week (even if it is a bit of a late congratulations)