Guillaume, Count of Normandy, had finally achieved a measure of peace in his battles against the Count of Flanders, before the onset of winter in 942. The Count of Amiens, along with the young King Louis and his advisors, had arranged to have a peace settlement gathering near Amiens, at Picquigny, a village along the Somme River. There was a fortified castle on the island near the village where the negotiations for peace were to be ratified with a hoped-for…
With Guillaume’s departure, Acelynn took their son on a journey to the north, leaving the inn in the hands of a trusted couple, who, like her, were descendants of the Ambiani. Their destination was a clearing in the forest that could only be discovered with a guide. Acelynn had relayed a message to meet the guide just outside of the village of Long, at the edge of the forest. The travel to Long was by a horse-drawn wagon. “Guillaume,” Acelynn…
“My that’s a long sword that you carry, Guillaume,” a beautiful young woman with dark hair remarked. As Rollo had mentioned, the women of Longpré were indeed willing to spread their legs for Guillaume. “Which sword are you referring to,” Guillaume laughed in return. He had just bedded the granddaughter of the inn’s owner. “Does it matter,” laughed Acelynn. “Both are ridiculously long. I shall call you Guillaume de Longue-Épée, Long Sword.” For the next few days, Guillaume spent his…
Since Rollo was still young enough to father more children, any son that would be born in the future, would become Rollo’s heir. Gisela, the daughter of King Charles of Francia, was too young to consummate the marriage arranged by her father in 911 AD. Poppa’s son, Guillaume was still the only known son of Rollo. The threat to Guillaume’s future as Rollo’s heir was minimalised. Life in Rouen went on as it had before for the young man. Guillaume…
Rollo did win concessions of land from the King of Francia, not as much land as he had asked for, but a good beginning none-the-less. The victory was bittersweet as it hadn’t been long before he heard of the massacres in Long and Longpré. Derelie and his son and daughter had perished at the hands of Haraldsson and his men. The news hardened him. He knew that he didn’t have the men to mount an attack on Haraldsson in Norway….
Eric Haraldsson had failed to kill the man who had executed his son. Hearing that Rollo had gone south, into Francia, King Haraldsson knew Rollo was out of reach. However, he had heard that Rollo had a son of his own. Not satisfied that he had exacted revenge with killing Kettil and Gurim, the king needed more. Until he had the chance to kill Rollo himself, he would kill all of Rollo’s children and his wife. While Rollo sailed down…
As their longboats approached the settlement of Rouen the next morning, it was obvious that many people were trying to escape the settlement. With so many longboats filling the river on the approach to Rouen, the fear in the city was palpable. “Look at them flee,” snorted Halfdan in disgust. “Just remember, before we pillage the city, we first kill the men and then loot the buildings. Remember as well, that the women and children will be our greatest treasure…
It took five days for Thórólfr to gather the boats and men. Finally, with a flotilla of thirty-six longboats, they made their way across the sea to Rotta. From there, Rollo headed south. With these numbers of men and boats, he had visions of launching a surprise attack on Paris though it was late in the season. Typically, such attacks were made at the beginning of the viking season, in late spring and early summer. Though the men would have…
Leading his flotilla of eleven longboats along the coast of Frisia, Rollo made sure to stop periodically. His men needed the chance to let loose, to engage in viking adventures. The months spent on land building the new settlement hadn’t been easy. There wasn’t much treasure to be won on their way back to the Western Isles, as most of the settlements they passed had been sacked too often. The coast had suffered too many Danish and Norse invasions over…
Surprisingly, by the end of August, a sturdy hall had been built with an attached living quarters for the headman’s family, an improvement from the more hastily built community hall that would be at the centre of the village. The quarters for the headman’s family were left unoccupied. Though the assumption was that Rollo and Derelie would eventually take up residence in these lodgings, Derelie and her children were to remain in Long, to live a less conspicuous life with…