By The Gods!

Saturday, November 25, 2016

     Hi and I hope everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving! I spent the day with my husband, my kids and my grandkids. There's no better way to while away the time.
   
     I'm going to begin a series of blogs on the Alemanni and their gods. We'll start today on the general relationship they seemed to have with their deities. I've done a lot of reading on this from many sources. The blogs will be my opinion based on what I've read. I won't bore you with a bunch of citations, but most of my sources are listed in the bibliographies of my books.
     The Alemanni seemed to have a relationship with Wotan, Donar, and the other gods that was more of a partnership than that of servant to master. They worshiped the gods and made sacrifices to them, sometimes human according to the Roman historian Tacitus. However, the Germans expected something in return: a victory in battle, a bountiful harvest, health and well-being for the folk. If the god didn't deliver, the Alemanni considered the trust was broken and might offer their worship to someone else.
     This reflects the relationship between the chieftains and their followers. The man in charge of a group of warriors expected his men to follow him and protect him in battle. This was not a one way arrangement. The chieftain was expected in turn to demonstrate leadership and courage in battle, provide weapons and armor, and feast his warriors when not campaigning.
     Women played an important role in their religion. They were considered to have a special connection to the gods. They could interpret the signs they sent and read the runes. Rituals were presided over by the women as often as the men.
     Next week we'll chat about the sources we have for knowing the gods of the Alemanni. Have a great week!
    A reminder: Books I and II of The King's Chain series are available on amazon.com.

The Justice of Revenge is now available on Amazon.

Hi!
     It's been a while since I've posted anything, but I'm getting back into the swing of it. I've been hard at work getting Book II ready for publication.
     The Justice of Revenge, Book II of The King's Chain series, is now available on Amazon. The Kindle version will be available soon.
     This installment continues the story of the Alemanni, Berand, and his friends and enemies. There are successes and failures, births and deaths, victories and terrible defeats.
     I hope you read it, and if you do, I hope you come back here and post a comment. You can also contact me by email: thekingschain@gmail.com.
     In the coming weeks, I'll post more info about the Alemanni, the Romans, and their respective societies.
    Happy Reading!

Who Did You Say They Are?
     The Alemanni, or Alamanni if you prefer the English spelling.
      You're wondering why you haven't heard of them if they were such a thorn in Rome's side (and they were). Well, actually you probably have. Their name survives in the French and Spanish words for Germany: Allemagne, and Alemannia, respectively.
     The reason they didn't persevere to become a dominant force post ancient times is a little complicated. The Franks became the dominant force in Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD. They were ready to step into the political, economical, and social void left by the contracting Roman influence. One of the reasons was they were willing to mold their society on Rome's example. They couldn't reproduce the brilliance of Rome -- the ensuing centuries were called the Dark Ages -- but they managed to hold things together until the Renaissance.
     However, the Alemanni were always fiercely independent of Rome. Some of this attitude can be traced back to the treatment they received from the Roman emperor Caracalla at the beginning of the third century AD. He nearly destroyed the tribe through treachery and deceit, and apparently they never forgot or forgave. They even sided with the Huns during their rampage through Europe in the fifth century AD.
     As the Franks rose to power they recognized the independent nature of the Alemanni. The Frankish king Clovis subjugated them in battle near the end of the fifth century. They became part of the Frank empire but still under home rule, as it were. When the Alemanni began to agitate for independence in the eighth century, their nobility, over a thousand men, were called to the Frank court, arrested, and executed.  Rule over the Alemanni homelands was given to Frankish dukes.
    The Alemanni retreated into themselves. Their dialect of German is still spoken, especially in the Black Forest area of Germany and also in  Switzerland, Austria, and the Alsace region of France, . They have started to rediscover their proud history. There has been an increase in archaeological digs, and road signs in their traditional homeland are in both German and Alemanni.

GOOD NEWS!  The King's Chain: White Horse, Black Raven is now available for review on
GOODREADS!
Go to www.goodreads.com

There's nothing like being there!

This past fall my husband and I were fortunate enough to visit the area of Germany I have been writing about. What a thrill to stand on the banks of the Rhine, tour ruins of Roman fortifications, and walk through the Black Forest.

We spent one day in Rottenburg am Neckar, a lovely town on the banks of the River Neckar. This is the site of the Fortress Hill and Berand's settlement.















               Rottenburg am Neckar

















          A hilltop overlooking the Black Forest
                just east of Baden-Baden

There was too much to absorb in the short 2 weeks were there. We'll just have to go back!

 Alemanni Territory, AD 260

Gallia and Italia, AD 260

Illustration: Sword and Dagger

The illustration featuring Berand's sword Wolf-tooth and his gilt-handled dagger also shows a ghosting in of Wotan, the Alemanni's god of war. He was also god of poetry, royalty, knowledge of the runes, and spell-casting. Quite a resume!

Wotan was often imagined as a wanderer wearing a wide-brimmed hat and leaning on a staff. His weapon was a spear named Gungnir. Sometimes he rode a flying, eight-legged horse named Sleipnir between the land of the living and the underworld. His other familiars were two ravens and two wolves that would travel the world and bring the god all the news of his realm. He is shown with one eye. According to Teutonic mythology, he sacrificed his other eye at the Well of Knowledge in exchange for wisdom.

Wotan's name was invoked by warriors before every battle, but he was a fickle deity, sometimes choosing to turn his back on his supplicants and give victory to the enemy.

At the time of my story, Wotan had gained popularity over Tiwas, the original ruler of the pantheon, who was worshiped more in connection with law and order, although he, too, was a god of war.

Wotan gradually lost favor with the Alemanni when they were subdued by the Franks and were converted to Christianity beginning in about the fifth century AD. Wotan continued under the name of Odin with the Vikings and the Scandinavians as late as the twelfth century AD.

          The Lorica Segmentata

     The first illustration in White Horse, Black Raven is of a Roman legionary wearing  the type of body armor common during the era of Roman called the Principate, roughly 27 BC - 284 AD.  It was constructed of a series of soft iron plates held together with leather straps and fastenings made of copper alloy.  It weighed approximately twenty pounds and provided excellent protection for the upper arms and shoulders. Unfortunately, it also was a little restrictive for deep breathing.

     The segmentata could fit a range of body sizes and it could collapse down on itself for easier packing and transport. The strips of iron plating could be replaced without too much difficulty if they were damaged. This made the armor a little less expensive to maintain.  On the other hand, the copper of the fittings set up a chemical reaction with the iron plates causing corrosion, and they seemed to break easily.  There a many examples of fittings found in Roman military sites.

     Archaeologists and historians had known of the segmentata for centuries but had never known how they were constructed. Then the bits and pieces of six segmentata were found in a box buried near a fort on Hadrian's Wall.  From these remnants archaeologists were able to reconstruct the armor.

     The Alemanni did not make their own armor.  Instead it would have come as spoils of war, taken from slain Roman soldiers or from armories of captured forts and military bases.

SEX

    ( Got your attention, didn't I.)

     In the Author's Notes for White Horse, Black Raven I wrote about the virtues I attributed to the Alemanni.  One of the reasons I chose those five virtues - honor, honesty, fidelity, loyalty, and courage - is because of the writings of Tacitus, the Roman historian of the first century AD. His Germania is the only known work describing the attitudes and daily actions of the Germanic tribes albeit one hundred plus years before the Alemanni became a known people.
     The choice of fidelity comes from Tacitus' description of the Germans' attitudes toward sex. Tacitus spends three chapters on the subject extolling the tribal custom of remaining chaste until marriage - both men and women. Apparently premarital sex was not allowed and adultery was all but unheard of. 
     In Chapter 18, Tacitus writes that a man took only one wife unless he was of the highest rank and therefore pressed with many offers of marriage as political alliances.  Woman went into a marriage as full partners with their husbands, sharing all that came to them, both good and bad.  A dowry was brought to the bride's family and she in turn gave her groom similar gifts.
     In Chapter 19, Tacitus writes that adultery was severely punished and that "no one in Germany finds vice amusing, or calls it 'up-to-date' to seduce and be seduced."  Only virgins may marry and once married may not do so again even if they survive their husbands.
     Chapter 20 speaks of the physical maturity of young men and women when married and the importance of children in the German culture.

     Tacitus apparently used this information to make a social comment on what he apparently considered to be the immorality of Roman society.  One can tell from the tone of his writing that he did not approve of the loose sexual morals of his own culture.  It must be remembered that histories such as his were usually written to be read out loud to audiences in small social gatherings.  He would have used the opportunity to chide his fellows Romans on their loose morals by comparing them unfavorably with 'barbarians'.
     So both Berand and Inge would have been virgins on their wedding night - a little romanticized, perhaps, but within the realm of possibility according to Tacitus.

The King's Chain: White Horse, Black Raven Now Available in paperback and on Kindle. Visit my Author's Page at amazon.com/author/smglover

THE KING'S CHAIN

A story of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, honor and deceit.

And above all, courage.

BOOK ONE: WHITE HORSE, BLACK RAVEN

            Don't let them take you alive! With this cry for victory or a glorious death in battle, the Alemanni warriors charge at their enemy. The year is AD 257, and the Crisis of the Third Century is about to get a whole lot worse for the Roman army.

        It is a time of upheaval in the Imperial Roman Empire. The Alemanni, a Germanic tribe, have pushed the Roman troops out of the territory they want for themselves. While usurpers claim Roman provinces and the young son of the emperor is brutally murdered, Berand, and Alemanni warrior destined for greatness, is gravely wounded in battle. It is up to the maiden he loves to heal him or follow him in death.

        But the Romans aren't the only enemy. The Alemanni are attacked by some of their own and are forced down a path of murder and revenge as they continue to battle Imperial Rome.

        In this novel set in an historical time, I bring to life the lives and traditions of a little-known Germanic tribe in a world where women are revered and men live to die in battle. Treachery must be dealt with and traditions will need to change to assure the survival and the freedom of a courageous and fiercely independent people. 

Fortress Hill

The Fortress Hill

This is the center of Berand's physical world and spiritual being. It is halfway between the place he was born and the bridge over the Rhine at Basilia, the gateway to his expression as warrior. Berand's father is buried on the hill as will be others of equal importance to him.

There are three runes in the picture. The obvious one is berkana, the 'b' in the tree roots. Berkana is the rune of rebirth and renewal, sanctuary and becoming. The other two runes are hidden in the branches of the two guardian trees.

INSPIRATION

     I have told many people I am writing a book. They are usually interested (or polite) enough to ask what it is about. When I tell them, most ask why that time period and that subject matter. That is an curious story.

     I love classical opera. In 1990, The New York Metropolitan Opera produced and televised Wagner's Ring Cycle, a series of 4 operas over 4 consecutive nights. It is based on one of the old sagas, the Volsunga Saga to be exact. After seeing the operas I read the saga and loved the heroism, the tragedy, and how small acts can result in terrible consequences.

     So I got to thinking (and my friends and family will tell you that is a dangerous thing!): Such heroism and tragedy must have had their origins in real people and circumstances. All legends have the element of truth in them. There was someone who was important enough, or did something important enough, to cause stories and songs to be composed about them. The facts were embellished or lost over time, but someone got the ball rolling, as it were. What if one were to write a story telling more of the fact than the legend?

     The Volsunga Saga was based on the Burgundians, a German tribe that occupied the middle Rhine from about the first century AD to about the fifth century AD. I did some research and found they were not very interesting. There was little written about them and they did not have much interaction with the Romans. In my research I came upon another Germanic tribe of the same era, the Alemanni, and I instantly felt a connection.

     I switched to researching the Alemanni, not an easy task as there was no internet or online book sales. Fortunately, I had just finished up a Bachelor's Degree at a local university and still had access to their library. Still, there wasn't a whole lot of information available. Being stubborn, I wrote a rough draft anyway.

     I had to put the project aside for twenty-two years; my career in teaching took all my time. I retired in 2009 and revived my writing in 2014. My connection to the Alemanni was stronger than ever. When I am focused, I can hear their conversations, the din of battle, and the noise of their gatherings. I can smell the horses, the forests, and the blood on the battlefield. I have written about only twelve years of their history, but I know their story for the next five hundred years. 

     I am glad to get the first book out of my system. The second book is also written and should be published around the first of September. The outline for book three is in my head. The story is evolving into a series of trilogies, each one centered around a particular hero. Berand's trilogy is the first.