Names of people and places have been a challenge. The spellings of names which emerged from a pre-literate society are inevitably variable, and the names by which we know the peoples of this period aren’t necessarily labels they would have applied to themselves. According to Bede, the British referred to their ‘Anglo-Saxon’ invaders as ‘Germans’, and I have used this label in relevant sections. By Alfred’s time, the ‘Anglo-Saxons’ referred to themselves as ‘English’. I have used Stenton as my primary guide to names and spelling. But this is a novel, and my priority has been editorial clarity.
Note that any dates given here are according to the calendar as used before its medieval adjustment of eleven days. The Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066, was ‘our’ 25 October - rather later in the autumn. However this period was in the middle of the ‘Medieval Warm Period’ (AD 900-1300) - a warm spell which enabled the Viking colonisation of Greenland and Vinland - and late October would typically be warmer than we would expect it now.
Regarding specific places, the remarkable sites I visited in the course of this project include Bamburgh, Pevensey, Jarrow, Lindisfame, Yeavering Bell and York. In October 2005 I witnessed a re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings itself, at Battle in Sussex, mounted by English Heritage and the Viking Society. Of course, as I noted in the first book of this series, there is no substitute for visiting these wonderful places.
Any errors or inaccuracies are my sole responsibility.
Stephen Baxter
Northumberland
August 2006