The Funeral Boat (36 page)

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Author’s Note

The Viking raid on ‘Neston’ described in this book is, of course, purely fictional. However, Devon did suffer greatly from Viking attacks for many years. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us that in 997 ‘the Danes went around Devonshire … killing and burning each thing they met … and brought with them to their ships indescribable plunder’ . It was monastic chroniclers who recorded these dramatic events, and the Church at that time added the words ‘From the fury of the northmen, oh Lord, deliver us’ to its litany. .

The inhabitants of the threatened areas must have watched in terror as the fast, manoeuvrable longboats with their fearsomely carved prows (the most advanced seafaring technology of the day) moved relentlessly along the coasts and up the rivers. Some, fearing the raids, buried their precious possessions, and treasure boards from the period have been unearthed.

The Viking graffito mentioned in this book claiming that ‘Ingeborg is the loveliest of the girls’ actually exists. It was Nritten by Vikings who plundered the prehistoric tomb at Maes -Iowe in the Orkneys in AD 1150 … showing that even Viking

‘aiders had romance in their lives!

Boat burials were a common Viking custom. Pagan Vikings

vere buried with cherished possessions for use in the afterlife:

word, shield and axe would be considered essential equipment

or a warrior.

The vast majority of Vikings, however, weren’t piratical raiders

ut ordinary people: farmers, craftsmen and traders who settled

eacefully in many parts of Britain and mainland Europe. But the

‘ikings were also great explorers who made their indelible mark

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on history. The Nonnans who conquered England in 1066 were their descendants. And there is even evidence that it was a Viking, Leif Eiriksson, who discovered North America … five hundred years before Christopher Columbus.

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