What should be changed with narration style?

  • Same as it is (Narrative with small informational spurts)

    Votes: 2 15.4%
  • Informative

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • Informative with narrative spurts

    Votes: 10 76.9%

  • Total voters
    13
  • Poll closed .

July 11th - August 883


Erikr arrives to Winchester with the grave news of Wulfhere's injury. Guthrum is enraged and calls upon the nobleman of the realm for a decision of what to do with the issue of Guthred's raid into Vestdanir. The gathering of the noblemen is called a Thing, based off of council-like system in their native Scandinavia. The Thing spanned over a week with the decision of an ultimatum to Guthred for reparations or a declaration of war. Within a short amount of time, Guthred had denied the ultimatum and prepared for war. Ubba and Sigurdr Snake-In-The-Eye were called in against Guthrum and the war became a magnet for aspiring Vikings. Guthrum had begun organizing local militias and gathering them in Lundunir (London). Somewhere In July he had set foot to Nottingham with Odda and 2 Danish chieftains who were beneath him.



August 883 - January 884


Guthrum encounters Guthred's army in Fall, demanding they surrender now or the war shall continue. But as being the cocky king he was, Guthred stubbornly refused the offer of peace and retreated back to Nottingham. Guthrum goes on a guerrilla campaign to slow down Guthred's retreat but were quickly repelled after the arrival of Ubba's forces. Guthrum has to make a decision, act now and risk trying to crush Ubba and Guthred's forces, making it easier to destroy Sigurdr's approaching army, or go on defense and hope that his forces can fight better on a secured position. He chose the former. By the dawn of the next year and a successful raid on Leicester, Guthrum had reached outside of Nottingham by late January. After a brutal fight Guthrum had been able to take the palace by maneuvering his men on Guthred's best men and taking the city for himself. Guthred was a slave once more.

ubbe.jpg


Painting of Ubba (left) from Harley MS 2278, depicting him ravaging the countryside.


884 - 885

Ubba stalls Guthrum's advance at the Battle of Djuraby in which his evenly matched force almost destroys a quarter of Guthrum's men. The war turns into a stale mate as Guthrum retreats back to Lundunir where Sigurdr is decisively defeated on the coast of Anglia but Ubba recaptures Nottingham, freeing Guthred. Neither side can make gains and the only battles are minor or end up in a draw. The factions come to a negotiation in Fall of 884 agreeing to the terms of Guthred converting back to Norse and a continuation of the borders at the time. The Treaty of Djuraby had shaped the borders of Danish England for years to come.


885 - 892

The famous warlord Hrolfr is defeated in France due to lack of reinforcements from Britain. With his defeat in France, Hrolfr sails to Ireland (with the warlords Sinric and Sigefrid) with hopes that he'll gain local support from the King of Dubhlinn. Due to Ireland's weak defenses and it's disunity, the warlords are able to establish a foothold in Ireland unlike in France. Meanwhile in England, Guthrum sets his sights on Wales to loot and plunder. His endeavors bring him to the walls of Aberffraw before being repelled by King Anarawd, where the two agreed upon Anarawd's surrender of coin but Guthrum's withdrawal from Wales. This agreement marked a period of relative peace in England. With this, Britain had become a stalemate. Celtic versus Norse versus the oppressed Saxons, the future of the islands were unknown.


viking ireland.jpg


The island of Ireland shortly after the arrival of the Norse warlords.

 
Yeah, this forum can leave a harsh silence on narrative timelines sometimes. I think it's a communication error, really - often a TL writer has a very clever, immersive, beautiful etc. plot in their head, but it comes with so much mental context that to a casual or even quite devoted reader it doesn't come across in anywhere near the same depth as you intended. This happens even for very famous figures; we all know who Alfred was, and broadly what he was like, but actually making him come alive, so that we can see his day-to-day world, in a narrative would take a hell of a long time if you wanted to make it as clear as possible. For someone like Guthrum it's much, much harder. Along with being busy, it's just this that made me quit my own narrative timeline. It's a shame, but also a good exercise in showing your working.

That's why I think your third option - more info with scattered narrative - is probably the best, for at least as long as it takes to really establish the ground you're working on. Information dumps can help us to see the history as you see it, which is why they get more replies than early narratives.

One more thing to note - narratives are also way more precarious immersion-wise than information dumps, so you have to be very careful in the way you present them. Your plot is really good, but there are just a couple typos and missteps of punctuation that the eye can just kind of get stuck on. Anticipation makes an update all the better, so nobody will mind you proofreading a couple times before you post!

All that said, I love this PoD (the Early Middle Ages are so much fun), it's a great title, and the images help a lot. It's overall a really good start to a TL; I hope you go far with it. Subscribed.
 
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The Norse Conquests of Ireland
Vikings_841_at_Dublin.jpg

Hrolfr in Leinster with a band of men.

Hrolfr conducted many raids into Ireland, disobeying the whims of the King of Dubhlinn, Sitriuc ua Imar. His fame grew exponentially and he became a famous figure in the kingdom. Sitriuc was dissapointed of Hrolfr's disloyalty but still used Hrolfr's army and commanding skills to his advantage. He legitimized his rule by intimidating landlords and the clergy into supporting his reign (using Hrolfr's forces). But with Hrolfr on a loose leash, Sitriuc could only do so much. Hrolfr began to expand his influence in Leinster, working with Sinric who had been able to gain control of Wexford with little sweat. By the Spring of 894 the Annals of Ulster reports:

"The army under Hrolfr and Sinric's command attack and quickly subjugate King Cerball son of Muirecán after an encounter in Inbhear Mór (Arklow). The heathens begin to make of Eire as they did with Saxana."

The viking lords from France began to make their mark in Ireland like their counterparts had in England. In a only a few years, the Irish had to face their toughest challenge ever encountered on the island before. With Hrolfr's victory in Leinster, he had taken Cerball's wife Gormflaith as a concubine. According to myth, Hrolfr had treated Gormflaith so much better than Cerball, that he had made her his legitimate wife. in a few years Gormflaith would give birth to one of the most influential viking leaders, Vilhjalmr the Lion. Sitriuc found himself stuck between two growing powers, the Christian clans of Ireland and Hrolfr's expanded following. Sitriuc was frightened and rightfully so. Many historians consider that Hrolfr's army numbered to about 7,000 men and 300 ships. Sinric and Sigfred had also been gobbled up into Hrolfr's realm but voluntarily, their armies pledging allegiance to him and the two "forced" to swear fealty. And in 896, Hrolfr invaded Osraige along with Sinric and Sigfred. The lords moved into the Kingdom with a pincer attack destroying King Diarmait's army along with the countryside. According to a scribe in Cill Chainnigh (Kilkenny):

"King Diarmat son of Cerbiall retreated into the church once the heathens arrived. He kneeled in front of the altar, Saint Cainnech gazing upon his lost soul. The heathens entered the church with Hrolfr leading them. Diarmat closed his eyes and prayed to the eternal Lord before being cut down by the godless pagan."

st_canices_cathedral.jpg

Church of Saint Canice, the deathplace of King Diarmat of Osraige.
The Norsemen gained control of southeastern Ireland, causing the formation of a Christian clan coalition, led by the High King Flann Sinna. Hrolfr named the newly owned region Guthnorþæn (Gods of the North) after his extreme devotion to the pantheon of Norse Gods. From there, Hrolfr had delayed his conquests in order to gain alliances overseas. When Hrolfr arrived in Vestdanir in December, Sinric escaped Guthnorþæn with a large following to Ulster. He occupied a town in Ulster, Béal Feirsde (Belfast), and demanded the King pay him tribute. The King refused the demand thinking that this Norseman was just a fool. But he was wrong. Sinric invaded Ulster in the early months of 897 A.D. The kingdom fell as fast as the others. Ireland was in a desperate position. In only 5 years, half of Ireland had fallen to heathens from far away lands. The Norse had seemingly conquered another island. Ireland had almost fallen.
 
The Rise of the Scots
Scotland was one of the last safe regions of the Isles after the Danish successes in 878. Christendom was at stake and the only unified force that could protect it was Scotland. The King at the time, King Donald II, found himself in better luck than most. His nobles were satisfied with his rule, Harald Fairhair of Norway had stopped his brutal raiding campaign in the Highlands, and Ubba "the Frisian" of Jorvik had been weakened enough to delay any attack in the future. His realm was in a fragile state of peace and if Donald were to secure that peace for his young kingdom, he'd have to earn it.


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King Donald II of Scotland (1821)


After the stalemate of the Danish lords in England, Ubba had found little to do in his throne. He had begun to grow old like his past friend Guthrum. Myth says that Ubba had 20 children and still could kill a man with a single blow. Though this is probably exaggerated, 7% of people with Anglo-Danish lineage can be linked back to Ubba "the Frisian". But besides, Ubba had found himself lonely and uninspired as king. His kingdom had been weakened after war with Guthrum and his puppet king, Eadwulf II of Northumbria, had refused to pay tribute for the past few years. Even the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which had only continued in Northumbria, reports that Ubba left Jorvik many times to raid or trade:


"893 A.D. In this year Ubba of Eoforwic left his throne for pursuits in Frisia..."

"895 A.D. In this year Ubba 'the Frisian' again set sail, but for Britanny..."

"897 A.D. In this year Ubba set sail for the last time to Ireland to meet King Hrolfr the Godless..."


When Ubba left to meet up with Hrolfr in Ireland, King Donald II of Scotland took Ubba's absence as a chance and led an army of Scots into Jorvik. Ubba left Ireland as soon as he could, landing in Oddrgrimir in September. Meanwhile, Donald II had been raiding in Eadwulf II's kingdom, committing many atrocities. When word reached to the Scots of Ubba's arrival, they signed a short lived treaty with Eadwulf which made Northumbria the tributary of Scotland until Donald's death. Despite this though, the Scots continued their war and marched south to York.


The Scots were welcomed into York with open arms as they were Christian, and the Saxons would take anyone but Pagans after witnessing the rule under Danes. Donald garrisoned in York, raiding the countryside for food and supplies, while Ubba began to consolidate loyal forces in the west. Scottish troops would occupy York for a full 7 months, even receiving praise (and a legate) from Pope Stephen VI. But in August (ironically after the death of Stephen VI), Ubba had returned with 3,000 men, ready to take back York. Using catapults from the Irish-Norse kings, Ubba had been able to storm inside York a month after arriving. The Norse edged out victory but with a price. Majority of Ubba's army had died including the famous leader himself, killing off the last son of the legendary Ragnarr Lothbrok.

northumbria after tob.jpg

Northumbria after the Treaty of Bebbanburg (Bamburgh) in 897.
Donald had retreated back to Eadwulf's Northumbria and continued to plunder. And two well known brothers of names Knut and Sigtryyg take control of the throne of Jorvik. The treaty of Bebbanburg is signed in September letting Scotland annex half of Northumbria and receive hostages and silver, but vowing to dislodge themselves from English politics for a decade. Scotland had begun it's age of glory. Free from the tyranny of the Saxons, and for now the Norse, the Scots and possibly the whole of Bretons could maybe reconquer their once prestigious land.


"The isles of Britannia were once more contested, and the more civilized Britons and Celts were the ones to stake their claim once more to England. For the Saxons, life was bleak and not even the holy savior could assist the peoples under the godless Danes. At the moment, Britannia was truly hell on earth." - Bishop Byrhthelm of Winchester (969)
 
I think it works very well, it gives a better outlook of what is actually happening. I do wonder about the Scots successes at this point. How long can they hold out under these circumstances?
 
Æthelwold's Revolt
"As I lie here and die, Gwyndaf, inside the city that gifted me victory, I realize something. It is not Odin or God who gave me this throne, it is I who gave myself this throne. And only my son will take it after me." - Guthrum 'the Old' on his deathbed in Winchester (894).

----

Guthrum died on a wintry eve in December, 894. The Saxons were not compliant with the heir to the throne, Erikr, though. They were already tired with 16 years of Danish rule why go through another? Multiple complaints and arguments started across the kingdom, and in January of the next year, the annual
Thing ended in a massive brawl and the death of the bishop of Rochester. This only escalated when Erikr banned any Saxons from joining the great feasts in Winchester. The cultural and religious divide grew deeper and deeper, culminating the execution of Wulfhere II of Wiltshire after a failed rebellion. Wulfhere II's death infuriated the Saxon lords in the west (Cornwall and Mercian holdings of Erikr's kingdom) and in May, the Þegn of Devon invited a young and ambitious man named Æthelwold to England[1].

220px-Meister_des_Benedictionale_des_Heiligen_Aethelwold_001.jpg

Æthelwold's "revival by the angels" after his return from Francia.
After the death of King Alfred "the Unready" of Wessex, the whole royal family of Wessex sought refuge in the courts of West Francia. Their prestige was wiped out early on, most of the house members becoming either courtiers or commanders of armies. Æthelwold though, nephew of King Alfred, was able to make a name for himself. He became increasingly close to King Odo, and would be receiving funds from him if he were to ever return to England. And return to England he did. Once he returned, he was greeted in a secret feast by the Saxon Þegns in Gloucester, being called a "gift from God". He stayed there for a month, planning his next moves, but this planning was cut short after the arrival of an informed Erikr. Rumors had spread that a descendant from the house of Wessex had returned to England, seeking revenge for their stolen throne. Erikr was obviously not pleased with this news and in Summer, he had marched a levy of 500 men into Gloucester, searching for the fabled Æthelwold. The search went horribly. The garrison of Gloucester (who were mostly Saxon) sided with Æthelwold and were able to push Erikr's army out the city gates. The Danes were astounded and before they could react they were surrounded by men.
black-dark-ages.jpg

Possible helmet Æthelwold wore.

"The men they scream
surrounded by traitors
surrounded by cowards
surrounded by monsters
their souls crave vengeance
and vengeance the monsters shall receive"
- Egill Skallagrimsson from Erikrsdrapa
Words of Saxon victory spread throughout the land, garnering support from Saxon bishops and lords. Æthelwold's victory rewarded him with needed prestige and support, as Saxons across Vestdanir joined his ranks. By the time Erikr had been able to assemble his own army, which numbered to about 3,500, Æthelwold had been able to gather twice the size at around 7,000 Saxons[2]! Though numbers did not mean all. Æthelwold's army was full of peasants, ranging from old men, to women and their children, and to disabled/maimed farmers (though he did receive Dumnonii mercenaries from Exeter). If Æthelwold were to win he would have to use extreme cunning.

When civil war broke out, the Danish vassals obviously sided with Erikr, providing him with the food and supplies of the eastern lands (Wessex, Kent, Essex, and East Anglia). Their army comprised of men both young and old, but battle hardened. To win, Erikr would have to use their skills in their advantage. War preparations lasted until 896, until Æthelwold's march from Salisbury. From there he marched to Hamwic (Southampton) but not only to capture an important town on the coast, but to block Winchester from naval trade. Meanwhile, Erikr had traveled from East Anglia to Lundunir to meet up with his allies. Erikr used Æthelwold's slowness to his ability, reaching Winchester by the time Æthelwold had taken Hamwic. Æthelwold had heard of Erikr's arrival to Winchester and decided to encircle the city before the Danes could make further plans. This was Erikr's only chance of preserving Danish rule.


The siege of Winchester lasted for 3 months, both sides taking minimal casualties. Erikr's men were holding strong, but for how long? Æthelwold had been able to cut off water access from the city, by building a huge dam in the river, made of boulders and trees. This marked the beginning of Erikr's worries. Once their already low water supply ran out, his men would surely surrender. He had no choice but to sally forth. Erikr left the city walls with 1,000 men in the darkness of the night[3], slipping by Æthelwold's defenses. The next day, Æthelwold saw Winchester under defended and staged an assault on the southern gate, which was particularly weakened after many bombardments. The Danish defenders were able to hold off the huge number of Saxons. Though the Saxons began to puncture Danish defense as the sheer amount of men were almost unbearable. Yet to Æthelwold's surprise came Erikr from behind their forces, in wedge formation cutting into the already disorganized Saxon line. Due to the Dane's armor, skill, and encirclement they were able to massacre large amounts of Æthelwold's army. This sent the main force into havoc, which let Erikr deal with the smaller (yet still numerous) flanks. Æthelwold died trying to assist his forces over the River Itchen before being knocked into the river himself and drowning. And so died with him, the dreams of not only a Saxon Wessex, but the prestige of the Saxon peoples. England was doomed to be Daneland[4].

aethewolds revolt --.jpg


-----
Footnotes

[1]I supposed that since in OTL, after Alfred's death, Æthelwold started a rebellion, that he would stage an ever larger one if the Saxons were under Danish rule.
[2]The only reason I made Saxon troops so large is that the Saxons were a relatively militaristic culture, and if they were subjugated under pagans they'd definitely try to organize in large numbers to revolt.
[3]This was a commonly used viking tactic in the early conquests.
[4]The whole point of this update was to create and go into detail about the destruction of the Saxon unrest and how this lost will effect the Isles for the rest of it's history.
 
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This is quite the interesting timeline. I always like Norse timelines and hope to see more of this.
Wow I did not expect someone to find this and comment, but thank you! I'm thinking if I should continue this or not. Since I have a more inspired TL that I'm writing, I'm considering to end this and remaster it to change the format and everything else.
 
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